I’m a mother to 4 young adult sons. One entertaining aspect of having children is watching them morph from babies into children, then pre-teenagers into young adults. Along the journey, you notice physical traits develop that resemble their parents; sometimes mannerisms and patterns of speech bear similarities to mom and dad over time. Our oldest son got my curly hair, the next son has his Dad’s demeanor, our 3rd son looks most like his Dad did as a kid, and the youngest son shares my smile and expressions. None of that is very surprising— they’re our children.
The apostle John says in the first chapter of his gospel that for those who received Jesus—as God in the flesh, those who believed in his name, he gave the right to be called “children of God”. He adds we’re children “born of God”. In 1 John 3, he reminds us that because of God’s unfathomable yet unshakable love for us, our “children of God” status is a fact we confidently place our hope in.
Physically, I resemble my dad, but my mannerisms are more like my mom. I wonder though, as a daughter, do I look like my Father in Heaven? Do people see glimpses of his Spirit in me? The Father delights in what his kids look like. He cares about our character, what we are becoming is important to God.
1 John 3:3 says I am to purify myself as he is pure. Purity is freedom from anything that contaminates. And God knows that nothing contaminates his children more than sin. Purity is important to God because he alone is pure, holy, and perfect. Because he wants nothing but the best for his children, he calls us to live pure lives free from sin. John continues in verse 6 “no one who lives in him keeps on sinning”… and “those who have been born into God’s family do not sin, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they have been born of God.” verse 9
I attended a baptism out of state last week. The church provided black t-shirts to those being baptized and across the front in large, bold block letters was one word: CHANGED. By his blood, and his sacrificial work on the cross, Jesus forever CHANGED my identity, my hope, my eternity. And at the same time, he calls us to live CHANGED every day, as born again new creations, pure and holy children of a pure and holy Father. I can think and speak and live pure because I have a pure Holy Spirit dwelling in me, powering me to purify myself as He is pure.
Donielle Winters EFCC Member