Devotional Study: 1 John 3

Welcome to the this week's Virtual Bible Study! This week we're discussing 1 John 2.
Let's get started!

First Step: Read the Text. (This doesn't take too long).

This Week’s Reading is 1 John 2. You can find it here.

Second Step: Lesson/Focus Text

“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

Listen to our theme verse sung here!(Just click on Audio)

Living as Children of God!

My children and I belong to a noble family. A family that extends far into the past, back to Ancient Prussia even! It’s a family whose relatives are scattered throughout the world. Uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters. Even we don’t know where they all are!

We belong to the family of Dohles and as a Dohle there are certain things that are true of us. For one, there are certain physical characteristics. Our Dohle family has a very prominent forehead and a certain eye shape that makes us all look kinda alike. In the emotional department, we all seem to have a temper. Maybe that comes from our rich German blood. Relationship-wise, we all have a strong sense of family. Our family means something and is important to us. We would rather hang out with our family than with all the friends in the world. And spiritually, we all have a strong faith in God and, whatever form that faith takes, that faith informs and strengthens our lives. We are Dohles and these things make us who we are.

We are also children of another family too. A family that includes people of every tribe and language throughout the world. A family known as the family of God! It’s amazing, when you think about it, how God has lavished us with his love that we are called his children! Think about what that means! If we are children then, like children are, we are heirs of God! And we share all that God has! We are the ones God enjoys hanging out with and playing with! We are the ones He takes pictures of and hangs on His walls in the Heavenly courts. We are the ones that God brags about and admires and loves and enjoys! We are God’s children... Wow!

And like children in any family, there are certain common family characteristics that you can see in all of us. Certain things that make us appear like God’s children. Maybe not physically so much, but definitely spiritually and emotionally. And these characteristics give us a glimpse to who is in God’s family and who isn’t.

These common characteristics God’s children all share are really quite simple. Those who are children of God “...believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and...love one another as he commanded us.”(vs. 23).

Look around you, St. John says. Wherever you see these two things happening, you’re seeing the children of God at work. When you sit in a soup kitchen or help out your neighbor. When you’re involved in a community action group or distribute clothing to the needy. Wherever you are among people loving and caring for each other, you’re around God’s children.

And this love is shown in very concrete ways too. It’s not about professing your love for your neighbor with your mouth or even liking him as a person. It’s what you do with your stuff that matters. “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him. Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”(vs. 17-18). In other words: Our family resemblance is shown in what we do with what we have, how we love our needy neighbor and act toward others, and whether we reach out to those in need or ignore them and go about our day. That is how we show we are God’s children. Those are the marks of faith and the hallmarks of our adoption. That is what is means to be God’s children in the world.

May God open your eyes to the needy neighbors around you that the world may know the lavish love God has for you in calling you children of God!

Third Step: Questions to Ponder...1. What are distinguishing characteristics of your family? What makes you different than other people in other families?

2. “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.” (vs. 23). Do you agree with John? Or not? Are these the distinguishing characteristics of children of God? Or are there others that he hasn’t listed here?

3. What concrete things in your community could you do to demonstrate the love of Christ in you? What neighbors are in need where you live?

Fourth Step: Email(if you like) your responses. You can just reply to this email or email it here.

Fifth Step: Close with prayer... Lavishing loving God, you have called me a child of God and claimed me as your own. Give me your Spirit that I may truly love others in word and deed through Christ Jesus my Lord. Amen.

See you next week! :)