Child of God - Be Thankful

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”
1 John 3:1

There’s a song we’ve been singing in church from Bethel Music, sung by Jonathan David and Melissa Helser called No Longer Slaves. It is really a song of freedom and thankfulness. The chorus says simply “I’m no longer a slave to fear. I am a child of God.” I think sometimes we fail to fully comprehend the depth of what it means to be a child of God. So why child of God should we be thankful?

This week verse starts us off – we should be thankful because of the great love our Father God has lavished on us. Seriously the Creator of the universe loves us more than we can even fathom with our mere human minds and hearts. He lavishes us with love through the beautiful world we live in. Consider the lilies of the field, the birds of the air and all of the amazing creatures we share this planet with – there for His pleasure and ours, there to show us glimpses of God’s character.

We should be thankful that He was willing to take on the form of us, to be born into the world the way we are so that He could understand what we face and why we fall and at times choose slavery to things that keep us from really knowing Him. We should be thankful because His death for our sins and his resurrection breaks every chains for those who decide to believe and follow after Him.

We should be thankful because His lavish love drives out fear, moves mountains, splits seas and holds us tightly when we have no choice but to face the storms of life. We should be thankful because He has rescued us from sin and death and calls us into His kingdom, granting us dual citizenship to wherever we live on this planet and the His Kingdom, until the time we see him face to face and enter fully into the King of God. We should be thankful that He calls us son and daughter, and that we have not only the responsibility of being part of His royal family but also all the privileges.

We should be thankful, because He will never leave us, even when we try to leave Him. We should be thankful because when He looks at us He sees us for who we really are and still lavishes His love on us. We should be thankful because when He looks at us He sees the reflection of Jesus and sees who we are becoming and He is pleased.

So who are you? You are a child of God – be thankful.

A Prayer
Father – Thank you for the love You so lavishly pour out on us. Love that allows us to become Your child, members of Your family and citizens of Your Kingdom. Love that drives out fear, moves obstacles out of our way and holds us tightly in the midst of life’s many storms. May that lavish love pour out of our lives and into the lives of those around us, that they too can call you Father and be a child of God. In the name of Jesus, who made the way for us to be called sons and daughters. – Amen.