DEVOTION – DAY 485

1 John 3:1 “Children Of God”

1 John 3:1 “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.”

How does one become a child of God? In order to become a member of God’s family, to have the privilege to call God, Father, entry is by grace alone. It is not based on anything we did or have to do? It is not based by doing good deeds or being a good person. It is a favor we do not deserve that God gives freely. The only condition is to receive and believe that God’s Son, Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, and that He rose again on the third day. When we confess and repent of our sins and open our hearts to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God forgives our sins and accepts us into His family. That is how great His love is for us – He had made an incredible sacrifice through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross to save us from judgment for our sins. This is what the above verse means.

Matthew was a tax collector. In ancient times, tax collectors were social outcasts because they were seen as collaborators with the Roman authorities to collect taxes for them. It was a despised occupation. The Jews would look down on tax collectors and want nothing to do with them. One day, Matthew encountered Jesus Christ whilst he was at his booth collecting taxes. He had heard about Jesus and he wanted to see Him personally. So, he left his collection booth and drew near to listen to Jesus. He knew in his heart that Jesus was special. When Jesus turned and looked Matthew in the eye, Matthew knew he wanted to follow Jesus. He made his decision to desert his collection booth to follow Jesus and become one of His disciples. From then on, Matthew knew he had a new family. He was in the family of Christ. 

We know someone who was from a country in Central Asia. She came to Malaysia to visit and she ended up staying as she loved Malaysia. One day, she moved to an apartment block close to our church. She went out for a walk and when she passed our church building, she heard a voice in her head telling her to go to church. The next day, she attended the church service where we met her and welcomed her as a newcomer. After the service, we talked and we shared the gospel with her. She listened intently. We asked if she was willing to open her heart to receive and believe in Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She told us that she was ready. For the first time, she felt that what the Bible had to say about Jesus made sense to her. She believed in Jesus and from that moment, she knew she was a child of God.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the great privilege to be part of your family and to be able to call you, Abba, Father. Please help us to mature to be more and more like your Son and we give glory to you. We pray this in the holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. What are some privileges you enjoy as a Christian? Discuss.
  2. How can you become part of the family of God? How can you help others to become children of God? Share.
  3. Share of the time when you became a child of God and what happened. 
  4. What can you learn about God’s love from this verse?