Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God........(1 John 3:1)

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God........(1 John 3:1)

I don't believe that any of us have to be reminded of how much God loves us (John 3:16, 1 John 3:1-3). Neither do we have to be reminded of the great love Christ has for us (Rom. 5:8, Heb. 5:8-9). Their love for us has been emphasized so much over the years that it dwells steadfastly in our hearts. If I were to ask each of you, "Do you love God", "Do you love Jesus", I have no doubt as to what your answer would be.

But how do you show that love? Loving the Father and the Son requires so much more than just verbally saying those words. I hear Paul telling us in Ephesians 5:1 "to be followers of God as dear children and towalk in love as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God".  Now I hear Jesus as he says, "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34).  ? When we willingly comes to the Lord, we must understand that we are committing ourselves to a life of self denial, a life in which the fleshly desires are mortified (Col. 3:5, 1 John 2 :15-17).  From the moment we in humble obedience come to the Lord, we must conform our lives to those things that please God and will bring honor and glory to him (Prov. 3:5-6, Jer. 10:23, Rom. 12:2, 1 Cor. 6:19-20). I am reminded of that grand old song we often sing that begins with the refrain, "All of self and none of thee" but it ends with the refrain, "All of thee and none of self". That is the way it is with being a child of God, none of self but all we are and have belongs to the one who suffered and died for us.

Walking in love requires more of us than to just verbally say that we love God or that we love Jesus.  Proof of our love for the Father and  the Son is shown by giving to them the best of our love (Mark 12:28-31, 1 John 5:1-3).  Proof of our love is shown by giving to them the best of our labors (Luke 10:7, 1 Cor. 15:58). Proof of love will be seen in the way we treat each other (John 13:34, 1 Pet. 1:22, 1 John 4:19-21).

I pray that each of us will ever be impressed with the manner of love that has been bestowed upon us, a love that makes it possible for us to be sons of God.

Charles Hicks