Who Are You?

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:1-2 ESV). I find it strange that so many believers really don’t know who they are! So much depends on knowing our position and relationship in Christ. Much of our happiness in life depends on how we think God sees us. Sadly, many of us have a wrong idea of God's opinion of us. We base it on what we've been taught, our bad experiences in life, and many other assumptions. We may think God is disappointed in us or that we'll never measure up. We may even believe God is angry with us because try as we might, we can't stop sinning. However, if we want to know the truth, we can go to the source of Scripture. God tells us how he sees us in our reading today. There are many other references in the Scripture that underscore this same truth; however, here we can certainly be sure that of all the possibilities, we can be certain we are His beloved child. Simply put, if you are a Christian, you are not a stranger to God. You are not an orphan, even though you may sometimes feel alone. The heavenly Father loves you and sees you as one of his children. No matter how old you are, it's comforting to know that you are a child of God. You belong to a loving, protective Father. God, who is everywhere, keeps watch over you and is always ready to listen when you want to talk with him. There have been so many times I have found myself in the middle of an illustration of this truth. For many years I have coached and refereed youth soccer. It is always a joyful sight to see hundreds of children of all ages dressed in their uniforms surrounded by parents, grandparents, and friends as they compete. Not very long ago I remember walking toward the parking lot and passing a younger age group just finishing a game. The referee blew the final whistle and all of the kids jumped in excitement as the final play was made. Parents flooded the field congratulating their children on a game well played, whether they won or not. There was joy and celebration and some pandemonium! It was a happy sight for all but one little boy. He couldn’t find his parents. I happened to know him and knew his dad was walking down from another field where he was watching another child of his. I walked over to the little boy nearly in tears and merely pointed toward his dad coming closer. The expression on his face changed immediately and he ran to his father. There may be times when you think you have been “left.” God has not left you alone. Nor will he ever do so. You are his child! Can I point you to Him today?