[1] 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. [2] 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. [3] And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:1–3)
Eternity impacts us today.
That’s exactly what the Apostle John says in this reading for All Saints Day.
The “children of God” refers to all who, by God’s grace, have faith in Jesus. This includes all believers who have fallen asleep in the Lord and all who believers this side of eternity.
According to John, when Christ returns, we will “be like him.” In Philippians chapter 3 the Apostle Paul puts it this way:
[20] But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, [21] who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20–21)
Ponder this for a moment. When Christ returns, all of our physical aches and pains will be cured. All of our emotional scars will be healed. Our incessant struggle against sin will end, replaced by the constant ability to live in God’s will.
As we contemplate the wonder of Christ’s return, God uses this truth to motivate us today. As John says in verse 3: “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
We are so grateful for future transformation that we start to emulate that life now. Putting off that which is sinful, we seek to live according to God’s will out of a deep sense of gratitude for what awaits us in eternity. We are moved to foreshadow the holy life we will live throughout eternity.
[1] 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. [2] 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. [3] And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:1–3)
(A Second Look devotions are written for the congregations of the Ohio District LCMS.)
Kevin Wilson 360 