1 John 3:1-6: a reflection

1See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him. 2Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be; but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him just as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure. 4Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he was revealed to take away our sins, and no sin is in him. 6Whoever remains in him doesn’t sin. Whoever sins hasn’t seen him and doesn’t know him.

John cannot contain his wonder: See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are! He does not want us to take this lightly. To be called a child of God is not a figure of speech but a staggering reality, the fruit of a love so great that the apostle exclaims over it. If you belong to Christ, this is who you are now: a beloved child of God, brought into his own family by his lavish love.

And there is more to come. It has not yet appeared what we will be, John says, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Our present identity as God's children is glorious, but our future is more glorious still: to be made like Christ, transformed by finally seeing him face to face. And this hope, John adds, has a purifying effect: everyone who has this hope purifies himself, as he is pure. The hope of becoming like Christ makes us want to be like him now.

Let both parts of this settle on you. Now you are a child of God, loved with a love worth marveling at, whatever the world thinks of you. And one day you will be like Christ, seeing him as he is. That future is not just a comfort but a motivation: if you are destined to be like him, let that hope draw you to become more like him today, pursuing the purity he embodies. Live as the beloved child you already are, reaching toward the likeness of Christ you will one day fully share.

Lord, see what love you have given me, that I should be called your child, and that is what I am. Let me marvel at that love and live as your beloved child, whatever the world thinks. And thank you for the hope that one day I will be like Christ, seeing him as he is. Let that hope purify me now, drawing me to become more like him today. Amen.