Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. I John 3:1

“I’m doing my own thing.” That little phrase is used today to justify just about anything a person does or wants to do. It is an easy escape mechanism for all kinds of evil conjured up in the human heart. And it‘s another evidence of the attitude of subjectivism that is so popular in the world today.

The Bible doesn’t tell us to do our own thing, but God does say through John in the text quoted above that we should “be who we are.” If someone tells me to “do my own thing,” that implies that I belong to myself and I alone determine what I can do. But if someone tells me to “be who I am,” I must ask and answer the question: “Who am I?”

When I take that question and answer it in the light of God’s revelation, I come up with an amazing answer. And it can be put in words no more beautiful than those recorded here: “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are.” Who are we? Behold! Look! Think! Be amazed! What love the Father hath given us! That we should be called children of God! And such we are! Children! Sons and daughters of God! That‘s who we are!

Isn’t that an absolutely amazing thought? That God, the Supreme Being, Majestic, Almighty, unique in glory and power and holiness, high and lifted up, infinitely exalted above all men—that He should have children?

And not only that, but con.sider who His children are. We frail, puny, often fickle, sometimes quarrelsome, frequently selfish human beings—believers in Christ—we are God’s children! You and I, and scores of others like us, with all our quirks and idosyncrasies, with our hatred and pride, our fault-finding and gossiping, our unfaithfulness and backsliding—we, if we confess Christ as our Savior, have Deity for our Father! That is both amazing grace and blessed assurance for us who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Children of God, the Bible calls us, meaning at least two things.

We are in a new relationship with God. Suppose a prisoner, who is in fact guilty, stands in a courtroom before a judge. His guilt is obvious, and so the sentence is pronounced. He has no choice but to pay the penalty for his crime. But right where the worldly judge is powerless to do more, the Divine Judge, as He deals with us, is mighty to act. For though our guilt is obvious, He takes it upon Himself at Calvary, gives us pardon full and free, adopts us into His family as sons and daughters, and makes us heirs of eternal life! Why, oh why should He do that? John‘s answer is: “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.” Love! In love we are justified, declared righteous before God. In love we are adopted, the adoption papers have been signed in blood at the cross. The very thought of it fills us with astonishment. But that is gospel!

And then we are given a new nature. We who are so unlike God in our sinful nature come to share in His nature. No, we do not become part of His essence, but rather He comes to dwell in our hearts by His Spirit to work out His purposes in us. Not only are we adopted, but we are “born again.” Not only do we enter His family, but there comes to be something of the Father in us. We call it regeneration. There is a new nature born ill the soil of the old, and wonder of all wonders it continues to grow and yield fruit, aided by the means of grace which God has given us for nourishment and growth. That we call sanctification.

What a glorious blessing t.hat we should be called children of God! It is the Lord‘s doing, and John is calling the church, you and me, to marvel at what God has wrought! At times, our senses are dulled because of a long familiarity with the Good News of the gospel. These words are like a call to keep us alert, and to prevent this most astonishing and inconceivable gift from becoming commonplace. It is God’s desire that we have that one indispensable response to God’s love in Christ Jesus which lies at the root of saving faith—that sense of wonder! Without it, the world will never believe our testimony, nor will we be as eager to walk in obedience to our Lord as we ought to be, Be who you are—a child of God!

O love of God, how strong and true, Eternal, and yet ever new, Uncomprehended and unbought, Beyond all knowledge and all thought.