"God's love for us is unique. First John 3:1 may be translated, 'Behold what peculiar, out-of-this-world kind of love the Father has bestowed on us.'" -Warren Wiersbe
Think of the person who love you the most. Mom? Dad? A friend? Spouse? Think of the degree to which they love you, despite your many flaws, despite how many times you have hurt them. But then again, they have not loved you perfectly either. They've yelled at you when you didn't deserve it. They've had bad thoughts toward you - selfish thoughts. They laughed inside that one time you stubbed your toe. They secretly wished that pretty girl had given them the "I love you" Valentines Card and you had been the one left with fourteen "You are a great friend" cards.
God's love is nothing like their love. Not even close. He has been more offended by me than I could possibly know. He is my Creator, Sustainer, Savior, Comfort, God and King. So often I treat Him as nothing more than an after-thought. Yet, He loves me as though I were His soul mate. He pursues me as thought I were the best of prizes. He waits patiently for me as though I were worth the wait.
Let me be brutally honest. I am not worth dying for. Even in my proudest moments, I know that.
But. But but but but but but…
That doesn't matter. Because He loves me anyway. I'll never be able to explain it or understand it, but it doesn't matter. He chose me, and all that's left for me do to is be His. I think Matthew Henry encapsulates this idea perfectly.
"Strange, that the holy God is not ashamed to be called our Father, and to call us his sons!"
Strange. So strange in fact that when the people around us look at us and talk with us, they are left thinking, "Huh, what a weirdo."
And of course they think that, because they have no idea what it means to be a child of God. They have no idea what it is to experience His love. The second half of First John 3:1 says, "Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him."
I've lived in small towns most of my life. Last names are a big deal. That's how you are known. In the event that someone doesn't know who you are, there's a good chance they know your parents or children. "Oh, Knoop! You're dad is the pastor, right?" Or, "Oh, Knoop! You're son came in second to last in the cross country meet, right?" You get the idea.
If we are adopted sons of God, you could say that my last name has been changed from James Knoop to James Godson. But if I tell the people of Blooming Priaire, Minnesota that I am Mr. Godson's adopted son, they will give me a very quizzical look.
"Oh, He is just the greatest!" I will say. "You should definitely be adopted by Him. I was heading toward a terrible place before he adopted me."
A strange example, I know. But that is how a child of God looks to the average Joe - strange. Some people are simply annoyed by strange, others laugh at it, and some are afraid of it and will do whatever it takes to eradicate it. We should not be surprised or discouraged by any of these responses.
Matthew Henry said, "Let the followers of Christ be content with hard fare here, since they are in a land of strangers, among those who little know them, and their Lord was so treated before them."
If God counts us worthy to be called his children, then surely we should accept gladly any opportunity to love Him in return through our own persecution. Again, in any other context, this would be crazy talk. But we have been loved with a ridiculous love.
We can also persevere through such trials because of the out-of-this-world hope we have been given. Verse 2 says, "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."
Take away three main points from this.
- We are children of God. Once you are adopted by God, the papers have been signed. Satan loses custody. God receives custody, and He will never give it back.
- God will be revealed. There is no "if" clause. It is certain. A date has been set.
- We will be like Him. Our bodies and minds will be perfected. We have no idea how glorious that will be, because our limited minds could not fathom it even if we were told in detail.
Finally, verse 3 says, "And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."
God has not yet revealed Himself. We have not seen Him. We are left on a cursed planet - strangers, aliens on a foreign planet. We are E.T., staring at the heavens, wishing so desperately to "phone home" - to be rescued.
But it is not yet our time, and while we are still here, we must be about our Father's business. We must be about the King's business. Since we now have been called royalty, we must act like royalty. We must not conform to the ways of this world and turn our backs on the King. How do we expect the fallen kingdom to return to their King if we do not mention Him, if we do not live according to His decrees? What if He should return and find us living in such waste?
Matthew Henry said, "It is a contradiction to such hope to indulge sin and impurity."
In other words, it makes no sense that we would long for a pure and holy land, while submitting daily to everything that is impure and unholy.
Warren Wiersbe said, "The unbeliever sins against law; the believer sins against love."
Let the believer not live in such a way. Let us dwell on the Father's strange love for us. Let us bask in it. Let us proudly wear the name Godson. Let us long to see our adopted Father's face. Let us long for home while in such a strange land. Let that hope encourage you to walk purely.
The world is watching now, and the Father is returning soon.
