1 John 3:1-3 ESV See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

WHAT KIND OF LOVE – He doesn’t want to be a tyrant, dictator, or boss; he wants to be our loving Father. I have met people over the years who find it hard, almost impossible in fact, to believe that God can love them. Because of the circumstances of life and the flawed relationships they had experienced (or endured), they could not believe that they were worthy of such love. Or they could not believe that a loving God would allow such pain and suffering in their lives. He did not cause our pain, although he may have allowed it by giving us the ability to exercise our freedom of choice. But he did not leave us to suffer alone. He entered into our suffering, even bore our suffering, and stayed with us through our suffering, suffering right along with us. Like a loving parent hovering over a child, seeking to relieve the pain, to minister to them in their suffering, he stays right by our side, though we may not even be aware of his presence. This is the way he loves. A compassionate, caring, enduring love. The extent of his love is to go all the way with us and for us, to give his all for us, to pay the ultimate price for us. We should embrace the extreme privilege and awesome blessing of being called the children of God, for that is exactly who we are, if we have truly been born again.

THE WORLD DOES NOT KNOW US – We no longer share the world’s values (what’s best for me), the world’s goal (get all I can while I can), the world’s desires (enjoy all that I can while I can), and the world’s morality (what action in this situation will benefit me most). We are different. I learned, as a child, that being different can be a blessing, but it can also be a curse. Some will punish people who are different, some will mock people who are different, and some will simply ignore or push away people who are different. It took some time for me to embrace my differences as blessings to be appreciated, rather than as embarrassing defects to be hidden, minimized, or rejected. Remember that the world which rejects you also rejected our Savior.

WHAT WE SHALL BE – Although we are children now, the full benefits of our relationship with God have not yet been revealed. The best is yet to come. He has not yet returned, but when he does return, he will change us into his own likeness.

What we will be means having glorified bodies that will never be sick or grow old or die, and being completely without sin. No one like that has yet appeared on earth (except Christ himself after his resurrection). we shall be like him. In eternity, Christians will be morally without sin, intellectually without falsehood or error, physically without weakness or imperfections, and filled continually with the Holy Spirit. But “like” does not mean “identical to,” and believers will never be (e.g.) omniscient or omnipotent as Christ is, since he is both man and God. (ESV Study Bible note on 1 John 3:2)

EVERYONE WITH THIS HOPE PURIFIES HIMSELF – What are you living for? Today and the little pleasure you can wring out of it? Tomorrow and what you may be able to gain from it? Or will you decide to live with eternity in view? Will you look for that city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God? What we choose as a goal becomes a motivation for the present. What we choose as our goal becomes the driving force, informing our decisions and choices, guiding our thoughts, words, and deeds, empowering us to discipline ourselves, as an athlete works out to attain the prize. We will seek “to be holy as he is holy.”