Monday, March 21, 2016
1 John 3:1 How great is the 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.
OUR PRIVILEGED PLACE
Remember your first job? Mine came with a strong dose of reality. I imagined a summer job where I would let the employer know what hours I wanted to work during the week, and that I would appreciate weekends off. The reality, of course, was that I was in no position to dictate anything. I was simply informed that I would be working from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the pea fields, and that I could forget about having weekends off. If I wanted the work, those were the terms. After all, my role was that of an employee of the canning company, not the one in charge. I needed to remember that.
Even more so, we need to remember our role in relation to God. Do you ever tell God what He should do? Are you disappointed or even angry when He doesn't do it? Have you questioned His love and wisdom in His direction of your life? You can read in Scripture of how Job did that. Finally, God set him straight: "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?...Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?" (Job 38:4; 40:2). God is God. He is the all-knowing Creator and Preserver of all things. He sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. Who was Job to question His ways? Job confessed: "I am unworthy--how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth" (Job 40:4).
Take some time today to think about who God is and how small, insignificant, and unworthy we are in comparison. But then look and be amazed at the role God has given us by His grace. For in His awesome love, He punished Jesus for our sins, that we might be drawn by the cross into His heavenly family by faith. We are not nameless creatures, not enemies, not employees, but beloved children of the heavenly Father with all the privileges of heirs! "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1).
