1 John 3:1-7 (NRSV)
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Chapter 3See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Verse 2Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. Verse 3And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Verse 4Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. Verse 5You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. Verse 6No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Verse 7Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
Devotion
One night after putting my children to bed, I looked in the mirror and recognized features of my parents’ faces in the reflection. The jaw line, the angularity of the nose, the shape of the lips disclosed their likeness. I thought of the likeness as a genetic thread from ancestors known and unknown, a connection in skin, shape, and expression that found its appearance on my face and the faces of the children now sleeping.
The first letter of John is written to children of all ages—children of divine parentage, “Beloved, we are God’s children now.” To be a child of God is to be made in God’s likeness. But a mirror cannot capture that likeness in its reflection. The likeness manifests itself in divine righteousness—in engagement, justice, and compassion. The sacred thread of righteousness laces its way through all of us, weaving us into one large familial tapestry that features the likeness of God in all creatures, those awake and those sleeping.
Prayer
O God of love and righteousness, enfold us in your arms. Encourage us to be your beloved children. And fashion us more fully into your likeness. Amen.