When my 3 sons were very small, people would ask me who they looked like. My oldest had dark hair and eyes, looking very much like his father. My youngest had blond hair and blue eyes with people saying that he looked like the male version of me. People always wondered about the middle child, uncertain of who he looked like. My response was always, “I believe he looks like his paternal grandfather,” to which he responded, “No way---I don’t have gray nose hairs!” It seemed like I was the only one who could see the resemblance until about two years ago, when he was a senior in high school. He was standing in our driveway and his grandmother turned to look at him. With a shocked and somewhat wistful expression on her face, she said that he looked just like his grandfather did at that same age. As my son matured, he took on more of the characteristics of his grandfather. This wonderful and heartwarming scripture from I John is essentially a love letter from God, identifying us as His children. In a world that is longing for belonging, this is very good news. John tells us that God lavishes his love on us and makes us his children. I love that word, “lavish” as it indicates that we are covered with a love that is lush, luxuriant, abundant, bountiful and sumptuous. It indicates that this love is an act of completion---we are complete because of who we are through this love. We are God’s children because he has called us by that name and when God says something, it becomes a reality. As His children, we are in a very special relationship where as we grow closer to God, we become more like Him, and ultimately become a reflection of Him. John talks about us having transformed lives as we begin to see Him. He’s speaking of a spiritual vision or seeing something with the eyes of our soul. The vision becomes clearer as we grow in heart-knowledge and experience-knowledge with Christ, who in turn reflects the likeness of God. Continual beholding generates a continual growing likeness. As we know Him more, we begin to resemble Him more. We are undergoing a transformation from the inside out—from the heart to our actions. This gives us hope and patience as we wait for the time when we see him face-to-face and when we ultimately will look just like Him. |