Recently, I was listening to family remembrances at a memorial service for a phenomenal Christian couple that recently went home to be with the Lord. As I listened to each speaker share testimony after testimony, I was blown away by their practical example of what it means to be a Christian who has been raised from the grave of sin with a sovereign regeneration. They understood what it meant to be children of God. They chose to live a simple life, unhampered by the “stuff” of this world. They served the sick, the poor and the downtrodden in the name of Jesus Christ. Their ambition was to see people saved. They sought things above, rather than the things of this earth.
In the first letter of John 3: 1, the writer, John, refers to believers in the early Church as “Children of God.” We too through salvation in Jesus are Children of God, and while our bodies are down here on earth, our hearts, minds, and souls must be focused, rooted, and grounded in heaven because that is where we are all heading. Paul acknowledges this truth when he says in Colossians 3:1-2, “If you then have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Dear friend, by faith through Jesus Christ, we are Children of God, and God wants us to live in such a way that represents our heavenly family. God wants us to live pure lives, even as he is pure (1 John 3:3). In fact, he reminds us in Hebrews 12:14 “…without holiness, no one will see the Lord.”
Are you living as a Child of God? Are you an authentic representative of your heavenly family? Jesus has done his part. Let us pray that through the power of his Spirit, we will do ours. Amen.