What the Fahter's Love does to us
Scripture Reading: 1 John 3: 1 - 7 (NIV)
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. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
Message: What the Father’s love does to us
Child of God
John starts of by saying that the love of our Heavenly Father is tangible in the fact that we are called children of God
This is significant in our belief system - it brings faith to a different level
It brings relationship into a belief system - faith is no longer just a conviction in your heart, but an active relationship
Our God is a relationship God - He wants to engage and He wants to be involved
Think about the fact that He uses a parental metaphor to describe His relationship with us
Those of us who are parents, will understand something of what loving a child is all about
I saw one of my FaceBook friends this week posting a picture of him holding a baby with the words: “It never gets old holding a new-born baby”
God is describing his relationship with us as that of a Father that loves, because there is no other human relationship that is more unconditional and forgiving than the love a parent has for a child…
And even though parent-child relationship may also go wrong in this world, we can understand something of the deep love a parent has for a child
God wants you to know today how deep his love for you really is
He wants you to understand something of how unconditional his love for you is
He wants you to get a feel for his heart of forgiveness He has for you, when He reminds you today that you are his child
Sin
Then John touches on the question of sin and righteousness
Sin is being looked at from many different angles
I am reluctant to talk about sin too often, because of the negative perception that was caused by moralism over the years
I believe that is one of the reasons a secular society is so negative about the church today - all they see is that Christians is judgemental and shouting sin to all that they don’t agree with
What if we choose to look at sin as harmful to us?
What if we choose to read the Bible’s references about sin as God wanting to protect us from the harm sin causes in our lives?
I think this is why God hates sin - He knows the harm it does to us - He sees us getting hurt by sin - He wants to protect us
If we could grow to understand our Father’s heart for us we will grow in our understanding of sin
This again emphasize the importance of faith in a live relationship
Understanding the concept of sin outside of a relationship with God, will not be positive
But in the context of a loving relationship our Father has with us, we can grow to understand sin as being harmful to us and our Father wanting to keep us safe from the hurt sin causes
Righteousness
The same goes for righteousness
The word righteous is often confused with self-righteous
Wikipedia describes the meaning of self-righteous as follows: “Self-righteousness is an attitude and belief of moral superiority derived from a person deeming their own beliefs, actions, or affiliations to be of greater virtue than those of others. Self-righteous individuals are often intolerant of the opinions and behaviors of others that they deem to be less virtuous.”
What if we see being righteous as being in harmonious relationship with God that benefits us greatly?
Instead of being arrogant in our faith, thinking that we have everything figured out in life, why not see the heart of Father that wants to lift us up out of doubt when we see the word righteous?
What if we could hear the word righteous as God saying to us: “I have our back” or “You are going to be ok” or “You are not alone in this”?
If we could grow to understand this, being righteous is wonderful thing.
What the Father’s love does to us
The song from Hillsong called “I am a child of God” expresses the meaning of being called a child of God
It has impact in lives that hunger for relationships and hunger for God
Being called a child of God makes our lives better - the love of a Father is impacting our lives in powerful ways
Being a child of God is feeling how my Father comforts me when I am crying
Being a child of God is knowing that my Father is not angry with me when I experience moments of doubt
Being a child of God is getting confidence from the knowledge that my Father is with me in whatever I’m going through
Being a child of God is trusting in a Father that will provide for me when I don’t know what the future will look like
Being a child of God is finding peace in a hostile world, knowing that with my Father, I belong
Being a child of God is understanding that God wants to keep away from harm when I hear about sin in his Word
Being a child of God is going into this world knowing that my Father has my back
John says: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”
Now go and see what difference the Father’s love makes in your life!
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