"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him." - 1 John 3:1
John expresses amazement that God should call us His children. I too am amazed that a Holy God would look upon us and call us His own. It is only by the Holy Spirit that we can know and understand this truth. And yet, even as we know it, we tend not to walk in it.
One of my main purposes in serving at an orphanage in Honduras is to share the love of Christ with the kids. I want them all to know and understand that they too are the children of God. I want them to know that God loves them and that they are His very own. I get frustrated when the kids become ungrateful and do not attribute their blessings to the One from Whom all blessings come.
And then I catch myself . . . do I not do exactly the same thing? Even just today, I was thinking on certain things I desire for my life that God has not provided. I have to stop and thank God for what I DO have. I do not deserve any of it. What I have are blessings. What I do not have, I have absolutely no right to demand. There are many times when I act like a spoiled brat, begging for things that I think I want. When a small child wants to eat candy, the parent usually withholds that from the child, because they know it is not good for the child. So much more, our Heavenly Father knows what is and is not good for us. He gives us what is good, because it is His very nature. He withholds those things that will not benefit us, either for our own protection or because it will not bring Him glory. Whatever the reason, do I trust Him enough to rest in His providence? Do I really believe that God loves me and calls me His child? I need to start acting like a child of God and stop acting like a spoiled brat. Only then can I model this very principle to the children I have come to serve.
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