DEVOTION – DAY 283

1 John 3:1 “In God’s Family”

 

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.”

 

We are all born with a longing to belong to something. Orphans in orphanages long to be adopted by someone so that they belong in a family. Children in school hate to be moved from school to school because they like to be a part of the same group of school friends. At work, people like to tell others they work for their company. Also, people like to show on their resumes where they studied, that they belong to their University or College alumni. People even want to belong to certain WhatsApp chatgroups so that they are kept up to date with what’s happening in that group of contacts.

 

In 1 John 3:1, the apostle John tells us that God, the Father had lavished His great love on us. He had prepared our hearts and given us opportunities to hear the gospel message. When we have committed to repent of our sins and trusted in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God had forgiven our sins. God had also adopted us into His family. He has consented to be our Abba, Father – and we can now call ourselves, children of God. We belong to Him. Nothing and no one can take us away from our relationship with Him. But John also said in this verse that the world represented by unbelievers are not part of God’s family. They are not children of God because they do not have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

 

We know a man who came from a broken family. His parents divorced when he was a young child. He was brought up by his father who remarried. His stepmother did not like him and he was largely neglected. He felt rejected and lonely. He could have drifted easily become a delinquent. But a neighbor took pity on him and took him to church. There, he was able to make friends with other children his age. In Sunday School, he read about Jesus from the Bible. One day, he opened his heart to accept Jesus into his life as his Lord and Savior. He wanted so much to be accepted into God’s family. He badly wanted to be called a child of God. Years later, looking back, he realized that God saved him in many ways. He was saved from the penalty for his own sins because Jesus died on his behalf on the cross. He was also saved from a life that had no meaning, a life of feeling unloved and unwanted. He realized that his own family on earth may not love or want him. But God loved and wanted him and He sent His own Son to die on the cross in order to save him. That was enough for him!

 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for your great and amazing love. Thank you for giving us the gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus. Thank you for adopting us into your family. Help us to live lives worthy to be called your children. In the wonderful name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

 

Questions

  1. What does being adopted into God’s family mean to you? Discuss.
  2. What privileges do you enjoy as a child of God? Discuss.
  3. How can anyone be adopted into God’s family?
  4. Who can you help to be adopted into God’s family?