What Great Love – April 29, 2021

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
1 John 3:1

What Great Love

How does a father show love to his children? One father spends his hard-earned money to buy the best of everything for his children–whether it’s toys, computers, clothes, or cars. Another father pursues the best opportunities for his children—the best education, the best sports teams, the best music, or the best dance lessons. Another father works less in order to spend more time with his children. I suppose all of these can be motivated by a father’s love for his children.

But the Bible doesn’t say, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that he always gives us whatever we want, that he makes life easy for his children, or that he always makes them feel happy and loved.” No, it says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.”

God the Father’s love for us is most clearly shown in his calling us children of God. When we were born into this world, we were descended from Adam and Eve, the first two people in the world. Because they disobeyed God, we inherit from them an inborn desire to live for ourselves, ignore God, and operate by our own rules. When we live that way, we can be called children of the devil.

The devil is worse than any deadbeat dad in this world. He doesn’t care for his children at all. He only wants to see them suffer because when they do, he thinks he is getting back at the God who kicked him out of heaven.

But God loved us so much that he couldn’t wait to rescue us from that abusive household and adopt us into his family. And so he sent his own Son to be the perfect child in our place, to be absolutely obedient, not to demand proof of God’s love, but to give proof of God’s love by his life. He did that so that we might be called children of God and brothers and sisters of Christ himself. As God’s children, we have a place in his family and a home with him forever. Now that’s love!

Prayer:
God, I delight to call you Father. Thank you for your lavish love. Amen.