See what great love!

At the outset of our mid-week study of the letter of John to a group of churches we noted that the purpose of this letter is to bring you into a relationship with God and to deepen your relationship with God. In our next passage we see just how personal God is. READ 1 John 3:1-10 NIVUK https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/…
We are invited to see, to behold, to appreciate the quality and the quantity of God’s love for us. See what great love the Father has lavished on us! One dictionary describes the word lavished in this way – bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities on. God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Nobody loves us like our God! We sometimes tell someone we love them but we are not always able to express it well. God’s love is so big that he acts upon it by bringing believers into his family. Sometimes when I am out walking in the evening I see the glow from within someone’s home and I wonder what it would be like to live in that home, to be a part of that family.  God invites us into relationship but we must respond to his invitation!
Jesus says “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20
John says to the believers now we are children of God. This is a fact, we who believe and receive are now part of God’s family. We have no idea what we will be in the future…but we know…when Christ appears we shall be like him! Doesn’t that just thrill you?
We are told that there is no sin in Jesus Christ the righteous one, unlike ourselves. For this reason we have come to Jesus at his cross to bear all our sins in his own body, past, present and future, and make us absolutely spotless and pure in his image.
John also reminds us that now that we are saved…we should not be involved in continual sins which we know are wrong. We are still imperfect and sometimes we fail but he is our advocate who defends us before the mighty throne of God.
In verse 10 John points to a definite sign whether or not we belong to God. He says “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are” It is shown in what we choose and love to do. Just as importantly we know we are the children of God because we love our brother and sister in the Lord. We seek to lift them up, encourage them to draw close to God and support them in prayer and in practical ways.
Will you take time right now to thank God for his lavish love and for being a part of his royal family for now and eternity? How will you show your Lord that you are his, by your actions and your love for other believers?

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