See the Father’s Love
By Rev. Kyle Norman
“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” - 1 John 3:1
God’s unyielding love is the plotline of the entire Bible. You cannot understand who God is or what God has done without understanding that God inwardly moves with a desire to shower you in Love. It is love that defines all of God’s actions, just as it is love that defines all of who God is. It is love that was incarnated in Jesus and love that was displayed on the cross. When we think about our lives, the love of God is the very atmosphere in which we reside.
Take a moment and ask yourself whether you have truly and authentically experienced the love of God. Have you met the love of Jesus, not as some theological thing to think about, not as something to be read on a page, but as a life-giving force enlivening your heart and your soul? Charles Spurgeon, the famous preacher, once said, “How important becomes the question, Do I know the love of Christ? Have I felt it? Do I understand it? Is it shed abroad in my heart?”
But it can be hard to recognize God's love for us in this world of ups and downs, twists and turns. Our performance-based world of merit and deserve tells us that we earn the good things in our lives. And so, we may think that God’s goodness is a product of how good or perfect we can be. But in this verse, John holds before us the fundamental fact that we are children of God, loved by the Father. See what love the Father has given us. Where do you look if you wish to see the love of the father in your life? There are two places to cast your gaze.
Firstly, look at yourself. Who you are, in whatever frailties you carry and mistakes you have made, is a child of God. You are precious to the one who created you and the entire universe. John emphasizes this point here. See the love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God. And we are! We aren’t just called children of God – you aren’t just declared it from afar – you enjoy that reality. And what defines you as a child of God is intimacy with your heavenly Father. What would it look like if we fully embraced this reality in us? What would it look like if, when we looked in the mirror, instead of seeing whatever flaws the world tells us are there, we see one whom God smiles over? What if, as a child of God, we see ourselves as the most beautiful, cherished, honored person in all existence? That is what we are, John says. That is who you are, a child of God, beloved, redeemed, and held.
There is nothing that disregards who you are as God’s child, as one in whom God delights. The love of God, unstoppable and unending, means you are God’s beloved. The love of God defines our lives; it defines who we are. But what if we don’t see God’s love when we look at our lives? We all know there are times when we have a hard time recognizing this reality. Our failings, mistakes, sins, or faults cause us to doubt God’s love for us. We ask, “Is it true that I am a child of God? Is it true that I am loved? Can I trust this word? Where do we look when our lives don’t remind us of God’s love toward us? We look to Jesus. This is what John is pointing to. When he says, “See the love that the Father has given us,” he points to Jesus as the full incarnation of that love. Despite what we may face in this world, Jesus is the full-bodied expression of divine love.
John is writing this to a community of people who bear the brunt of the world around them – where sometimes faith causes mockery or hurt. Yet despite whatever great tribulations they had experienced, the love of Christ covers them. “The reason why the world does not know us,” John writes - the reason why the world does not always respond to us as people in whom God delights – is because it didn’t know him.” John reminds us that Jesus, crucified on the cross, testifies to the power of God’s love despite the hurt and mockery we may experience.
Jesus, the lover of our hearts, is the one that soothes, the one that comforts, that one that heals – and the one that promises that there is nothing that will deny God’s love for us. And so, if we want to see the robust, earth-shattering love of the Father, we look to the one who is its very incarnation.
Intersecting faith and life:
How marvelous, how magnificent, how radical is the Love God has given us that we should be called Children of God. One translation of this verse says, “See what love the Father has lavished upon us – smothered us in – extravagantly bestowed upon us - that we should be called God’s children.” Now being a child of God is a profound thing – and we could spend a long time talking about all the ins and outs. But more than anything, it speaks about God’s unyielding presence that goes with us and acts for us. Being a child of the heavenly Father means there is never a day when God does not delight in being with us.
If you need a word of encouragement today, take a moment to read yourself into this verse. “See what love the Father has given me, that I am called a child of God. And that is who I am.” Repeat this as many times as you need to hear it. It is the truth; dare to believe it.
Further reading
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Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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