Hunkered Down Devotion

1 John 3:1-3 (Voice)
Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us—He calls us children of God! It’s true; we are His beloved children. And in the same way the world didn’t recognize Him, the world does not recognize us either.
2 My loved ones, we have been adopted into God’s family; and we are officially His children now. The full picture of our destiny is not yet clear, but we know this much: when Jesus appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. 3 All those who focus their hopes on Him and His coming seek to purify themselves just as He is pure.

Today is a special day in our family’s story.  Eight years ago, our family of four became a family of six as Ian and Henry officially became members of our family.  Their ‘gotcha’ day – when they came to be with our family was almost a full year earlier, but it was on Friday, November 16th, 2012 that we stood in the courthouse in Brockton, MA for a judge to make official what God had already made real in our hearts: that we were a family.  

One of the things that sticks in my memory of that day, partially because it was a surprise, is one of the things that we were given after the judge made the adoption official.  We knew that we would get adoption certificates and, I thought we would get new – meaning amended birth certificates.  But what we were given surprised me, and it literally took my breath away.  

After the adoption was final, we were given their new birth certificates and I read them, I realized they weren’t amended, but they were completely new and they read like Ian and Henry had always ours.   In that moment I understood something about God’s love for us that I had never quite comprehended before.  God has lavished on us such an extravagant love that we are now his beloved children.  

The Voice Bible notes for these verse’s highlight this important truth: When we feel like we are not good enough to be loved by God, we should remember that God’s love is greater than our doubts. We must silence the sounds of condemnation so we can hear the voice of God’s loving assurance and remember that He has selected us to be part of His family.

Do you understand how much God loves you?  So much that he has seen all that you have ever done and will ever do and claimed you as his own anyway.  He has written our names in his book and poured out his unending love and grace on us as an inheritance, sparing nothing for us his beloved children.  

Sharing God’s Love,
Chip  

Prayer: Lord, thank you for claiming us as your own and loving us with the enduring love of a perfect parent.  Amen.