3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us in that we should be called God’s children, and that is what we are! Because the world didn’t recognize him, it doesn’t recognize us.
2 Dear friends, now we are God’s children, and it hasn’t yet appeared what we will be. We know that when he appears we will be like him because we’ll see him as he is. 3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves even as he is pure. 4 Every person who practices sin commits an act of rebellion, and sin is rebellion. 5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Every person who remains in relationship to him does not sin. Any person who sins has not seen him or known him.
Practicing sin or righteousness
7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you. The person who practices righteousness is righteous, in the same way that Jesus is righteous. 8 The person who practices sin belongs to the devil, because the devil has been sinning since the beginning. God’s Son appeared for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those born from God don’t practice sin because God’s DNA[a] remains in them. They can’t sin because they are born from God. 10 This is how God’s children and the devil’s children are apparent: everyone who doesn’t practice righteousness is not from God, including the person who doesn’t love a brother or sister.
Reflection
Righteous. It’s not a word we hear used to describe someone in today’s world, and if we do use it, it’s usually used in a negative way. We use it to describe someone as “self righteous,” meaning they are acting morally superior, convinced they are right, when in actuality, their motivation is all wrong. We may say that someone is acting with “righteous indignation, but the person isn’t always acting out of any sense of injustice to others, but rather a perceived
insult to themselves. So we may ask, what exactly is righteousness?
Righteousness isn’t just about right action, righteousness is an attribute of God and so, as children of God, it’s literally ‘in our spiritual DNA.’ God’s righteousness brings to the world, love, mercy and justice that causes healing, wholeness, transformation, reconciliation, restoration and salvation. This is God’s purpose in Christ for the world.
We are God’s children and God loves us and seeks to be in relationship with us. We believe in Jesus, we are forgiven and restored to a transformed relationship with God. As God’s children, we follow Jesus and we are called to live a life that loves God with all our hearts, soul and minds, and loves our neighbor as we love ourselves. We don’t continue to give our lives over to the control of sin. We live a life purposely devoted to following Jesus, doing what is right, by caring for the poor, praying, seeking justice, mercy and sharing the good news. As God’s beloved, forgiven and redeemed children, doing right is now literally ‘in our spiritual DNA,’ because we are born anew by God through Christ Jesus. This is what our purpose is in this
world, to love God and love others so that our actions reveal God’s love to the world.
For this reason, as children of God, we are different from the world of sin, always at odds with the world’s expectations. Sin is another word we don’t like to use or hear. But our writer is very clear, don’t be deceived, sin is what separates us from God. Jesus came for the purpose to destroy sin, and restore us to a reconciled and vibrant relationship with God so that our
transformed lives may bring the good news of God’s love, through Christ, to the world.
by Jeneene Reduker
For Pondering and Prayer
We find our purpose by following Jesus and loving God, loving others and sharing the good news, that is literally hard wired into our spiritual DNA. Have you found your purpose in this season of life?
Prayer: Holy and Loving God, you are the source of all righteousness and we find our purpose in you and in following Jesus and loving others. Align our hearts with your will and guide us every step of your way, Amen.