"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him." 1 John 3:1
In this month of Thanksgiving, we often focus on what we have been blessed with materially and physically. We focus on family and coming together to spend time with one another. But I think we often forget or quickly pass over many things that we can be spiritually thankful for.
In 1 John 3:1, we are reminded that God has lavished His love on us as His children. I love so many things about this verse. First, it reminds us that God is our Father, and we are His children. This means we have intimacy with Him. We have a place at God’s table and that place is not just as a servant or a low member of the household. We are His children and we get all the blessings of inheritance that come with that title. We can approach Him at any time and are welcome at His table. We have direct access and get to experience Him in the intimate moments.
I think my favorite part of this verse is the exclamation marks. They put emphasis on how amazing it is that we get to be His children and experience that closeness with Him! That’s not something we should easily overlook. It’s something that should excite us and bring joy and encouragement to our hearts.
I also love the wording John chooses here to express the idea of how the Father shows His love for us. God does not simply hand His love over to us. He lavishes it, meaning He pours it over us... completely covering us in blessings and a love that overflows. Let's not forget that at His table our places are set with cups overflowing and more than enough goodness to satisfy our needs.
As extravagant as our own places at the King’s table are, we cannot forget to take note of the sec ond part of this verse as it includes another vital piece of information -- there are still those who do not know Him.
The NLT explains it this way: “But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him.”
This is a huge reminder that while we have a place at God’s table and know Him as Father, there are many people around us who have not experienced His lavish love. They don’t understand what we have or even realize they need it themselves. God has strategically placed us where we are so that we can invite those who do not know Him to come to His table and experience His lavish love -- to know Him as Father and understand what it means to be forever cared for as His child.
During the busyness of Thanksgiving festivities, take a moment to pause and be thankful for your pat the Father’s table. Thank Him for lavishing His love on you when you didn’t deserve it, and don’t forget to invite others to the table to enjoy His lavish love, too.
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