Not a day should pass by when we are not aware of this great blessing.  We are children, not of a god, or one of many gods, but of the true and living God.  I know that intellectually we all know this, but I am not sure we contemplate it enough.  Do you fully realize what a blessing it is to be called a child of God?  When John considered this truth, the first thing that came to his mind was the love that God has for us.

1 John 3:1 (NKJV)
¹  Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

The word “behold” means, “to perceive or gaze upon.”  It is usually used by one who is asking his audience to earnestly contemplate something.  Whenever the word is used, something important is about to be introduced.  Such is the case here. John wants us to digest the great truth that God loves us.  He wants us to see the depth of that love as manifested by the fact that He has made us His children.  Remember, we are God’s children, not by nature, but by way of adoption.

Ephesians 1:5-6 (ESV)
⁵  He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶  to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Why do people adopt children?  There is a simple answer to this question—it is because that is what they want to do.  They want children.  They are not forced to do it.  They do it because it is their will, and (most of the time) it is motivated by love.  This is unequivocally the case with God’s adoption of us.  Children who have been adopted know that they are wanted by someone. This should be our conclusion as well.  Paul said that God adopted us according to the purpose (the KJV says, “good pleasure”) of His will.  We are wanted by God (Ephesians 1:16-18).

Knowing that we are children of God, should not only fill us with joy and appreciation but also with a sense of responsibility.  As God’s children, we are representatives of Him.  Knowing this, God wants us to represent Him well by being like Him.  This begins with being obedient children and ends with being holy.

1 Peter 1:14-16 (ESV)
¹⁴  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵  but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶  since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Notice that Peter said we must be holy in all our conduct, i.e., in all areas of our daily lives.  We must be holy in our relationship with the world, in the recreation we choose, when we are at work, and when we are at home.  We must, as the song says, take time to be holy.  Why?  Because our Father is holy, and if we are His children, we ought to be like Him.  Since we are representatives of God here on earth, if we fail in this area, people will judge God poorly (Romans 2:23, 24).

If you have obeyed the gospel, you have been adopted into the family of God.  You are a child of God, and, therefore, a fellow heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).  The question is, what kind of child are you?

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.