Paul tells us that God brings us out of the domain of darkness into the light. But Satan will try to tell you different. He started with Eve, questioning the word of God. He was even as bold as questioning the authority of Jesus. In the story of Job, we see God giving authority to allow Satan to take all the blessings of Job. But Job continued to worship, even in the struggle.
Satan will tell us that we are not qualified. We are not fit to be alive in Him or a part of the saints of God. That we don’t deserve the love of God. God doesn’t tell us to jump through hoops, but to trust in Jesus. But Satan’s ploy will be to confuse us to that that simple, yet powerful, truth.
When John speaks of lavished, we can begin to think of what that means. No holding back, over flowing, more and more. God doesn’t limit his love for us, but is lavished upon us. We are His children! The world does not define it, limit it, or take it away. But many times we limit His love because we allow the influence of the world. But the world does not understand God, God’s love, or us as His children, because they do not know Him.
Right now, we are to live as his children, not knowing what eternity will be like. We don’t know. But what we do know is that we are children of God. God knows what we need to rely on what he says over what we feel. We all know what it might look like to run life on how we feel instead of what God tells us is true. Both in the good times and the bad.
The tough truth about what we are right now, is that our hope in him, Jesus, purifies us. Our goal is to be as he is. And if we are in disagreement, we are to confess our sin and get back on the right page with him. But when we do not confess, we live disjointed with God. And left unchecked, we become bitter, indifferent, or disconnected with God’s love.
The enemy will try to take away anything you give him. But he can only take what we give him. That is why we have to continue to grow, but if we give up anything, Satan will be right there.
We need to give over to God everything to him. When we are not where we need to be, God will let us know how we need to know. Just as we discipline our children out of love, God will do the same. He is not going to sit idly by as we fall. Listen to His voice, and live as his child today.
3:1 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. (ESV)
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. (ESV)
3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (ESV)