Can You See His Love? (1 John 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.” (1 John 3:1)

One of John’s greatest qualities is his tenderness, and like a father, he invites us to see. When doubt buffeted its shadowy wings over Nathaniel, Phillip simply said, “Come and see!” When Nathaniel saw, his doubts fled, and he said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49) When Joshua exhorted Israel to faithfulness, he encouraged them to see that “not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God has promised.” (Josh. 23:14). When Polycarp faced the fires of martyrdom, he could see and say, “86 years I have served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?”

In our visual society, buffeting us with messages of death and despair, what we need most is to see the kind of love the Father has given to us. He loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son that we may be adopted sons of a heavenly Father. In our life, our Father has shown his love in preserving and guiding us. In our need, our Father has shown his love by providing and supplying. In our affliction, our Father has shown his love in his strengthening and supporting us. In our passing, our Father shows his love by preserving and welcoming us into heavenly bliss.

Today, see what kind of love the Father has given to us. By his grace, we have been adopted as sons, and His love will never leave us. As The Psalter pens: “The tender love a father has for all his children dear, such love the Lord bestows on them who worship him in fear.” See, worship, and rest in the astonishing love of the Father.