God the Son is a concept I can wrap my brain around. His humanity makes Jesus feel approachable, relatable even. God the Spirit is a more abstract concept, but my head and heart can still connect the dots. I’ve felt the Spirit’s stirrings in my heart. I’ve seen Him bring peace and joy to His people. But God the Father? I’m afraid that’s where you lose me. Picturing Him feels like lying on my back and watching cloud pictures float across the sky. One second I can make out the edges of the image through squinted eyes; the next, it’s gone. I have a hard time grasping God the Father and an even harder time picturing God as my Father.
You don’t have to read too closely between the lines to discern that my relationship with my dad has been complicated. There’s affection there, but we’ve learned the hard way that the bumps and potholes of life can fracture our tender bond. There’s no reason to go into the specifics here because you’re likely already thinking of your own dad. Perhaps he’s been absent, apathetic, or abusive, and when you get to passages that describe God as Father, you can’t help but question His love for you. Or maybe when you count your lucky stars, your loving, attentive earthly father is among them. Even so, your earthly father is a sinner, incapable of loving you perfectly.
So when the Bible speaks of God’s love for us as a paternal love (1John 3:1), the kind between a loving father and a devoted daughter, it can be hard to see the full picture. John’s letter urges us to keep squinting, to keep trying to see God the Father. There’s a cadence, a rhythm that beats throughout the letter. John refers to God as Father over and over. That’s the downbeat: God is Father. God is Father. God is your Father. Look again and you’ll find a counter rhythm, the sweet language of childhood, gently referring to us, the readers, as little children, beloved and born of God (1John 3:2,7; 4:7). This language isn’t patronizing, but tender. The upbeat of the letter is this: You are His child. You are His child. You are His beloved child.
I’m well into my adult years, but sometimes my heart still takes the posture of a little girl, doubting God’s love or wanting to hide from Him in fear. John’s words gently bid me to look up and see the love God the Father has lavished upon me. I imagine Him kneeling down, lifting my chin to say:
“So now, little [child], remain in him so that when he appears [you] may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know this as well: Everyone who does what is right has been born of him” (1John 2:28–29).
How do we know we’re His? Because of the kind of love God offers. Though we were once sinners, separated from the Father, He reaches toward us with paternal love. We have assurance of God’s love because He does not treat us like strangers. He treats us like family. And not the way you treat a distant cousin, awkwardly kept at arm’s length. No, God lavishes love upon us. He responds to us like a perfect Father should.
The wonder of this truth may still be hard to grasp, but it doesn’t change the facts. God is the Father “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV). And we are His beloved daughters.
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72 thoughts on "We Are God’s Children"
Hits very close to home and tugs at my heart
Praying I never doubt the love of my Heavenly Father.
This one hits home. It’s a strange feeling to see healthy father daughter relationships and want to come out of my skin. Learning forgiveness and allowing Jesus and God the Father to heal old wounds in this regard, is a dance I’m perfecting with time. But I’m so thankful for His perfect love and that’sHe can be the Father I’ve always needed.
Praise God that he is a perfect father, who heals all earthly wounds ❤️
So happy ti be a daughter of the most high! Thank you God for being my Father.
❤
Lord help me to see your love for me each and every day clearer and clearer
I have been bothered lately by the relationship I have with my earthly father because it has shifted tremendously! But I am thankful that God
My father never changes and his promises are forever!!!
Great reminders of the confidence we have as Gods children
I’ve have read the Love that God has for Us however I haven’t written in my bible nor highlighted in my bible. I feel I just want to be in the study and not get behind. I sometimes pickup the study to see the verses of the day then I read them in my bibles (csb & cev) to help me to understand the Word of God.I want it to resonate with my soul. We’re in this very moment right now with Him. This Book was meant for a time such as this. I’m hoping to understand God Words for a Deeper Meaning and Relationship With Him. In moments I rush to get through and moments it’ll stop me to ponder on thought. It’s sad how my mind forgets so quickly however my Love For My Heavenly Father Never Leaves Me. I’m His Daughter, His Princess that’s just trying to find and remain with him even in my times of Trials and Tribulations that I go through and face. I don’t repent like I should to ask for Forgiveness and turn away from my sin. I’m one that’ll repeat the sin knowing it’s wrong to do. The sin will start to bother me so I start to make excuses on why not to continue that sin instead of asking God to deliver me from that sin in the first place. I made it hard for myself while God is still there with open arms waiting for me to turn to just to him. The Love He Has For Me Is Unconditional. I must put my all into Him and Trust In Him That He Got Me In Full Force With His Fullness Of Love And Life. Even with my past of what I can’t change because it did hurt me which I now have issues with now into my late Forties about to be Fifty. This Woman just wants Total Healing from all the Struggles. I Know He Loves Me. I Just Need To Learn How To Look Deep And Love Myself Enough. How Do I Do That Knowing God Is True? I Need Set Aside The Anger Within In Me To Grow In Love. I’m Tone Is Always In Anger Ready For A Battle. I Either Win Or Lose The Battle Because The Tone Was Either Right Or Wrong. That’s not how I such be if I say,
“I’m A Child Of God.” I’ve been wounded in my battle however I’m Claiming Complete Healing In All Areas Of My Life.
God Loves Me Yes He Does Because He Words Said So
Yes, Jesus Loves Me
Yes, Jesus Love Me
Yes, Jesus Loves Me For The Bible Tells Me So
from,
Your Daughter (Princess)
Myrene
I am one of the lucky few who has a good relationship with my father. I am a daddy’s girl and I love spending time with my dad. That said, my father is also a spiritual mentor to me. He has studied the Bible for most of my life (if not all of it and more) and when I have questions, I ask him. Since I have a good earthly father, I often do find myself comparing him with the image I have of our heavenly Father. I know my Dad’s not perfect…not even close! But it’s still hard, even with a good example, to imagine what God the father is like.
Thanks so much Amy for the explanation! That was super helpful.
Who am I that God should call me His own?
That God would call me His daughter. That He would be my Father.
Stop and think about God,… who He is,… His attributes…
And yet, God is my Father.
Today, every yesterday (even before my first breath), and every tomorrow, my Abba.
This morning as I read His Word, I revisited my life, God’s faithfulness, from birth to this moment.
A God hunt through my days left me in awe of His faithfulness.
I am
Forgiven.
Covered.
Loved.
Held.
His.
And, I am humbly thankful.
I speak for myself, but is this not the cry of our hearts? God is intimately involved with each one of His children. Exactly what we need in every moment whether yesterday, today or tomorrow. We are so blessed.
Beautifully said ❤️
Today’s message put me in tears , I grew up with an abusive father and it is hard sometimes with my relationship with God but I know he is real and loves me faithfully
My Dad also had many faults. He was raised by a Godly grandfather but still never knew his own father and I think that was somewhat pretty in his fathering skills. We lost him right after Christmas unexpectedly and I have peace knowing that while he wasn’t perfect he was saved before he died and now he is with that Godly grandfather and his true father God in Heaven.
Now that I am a parent myself, I think I am able to get a better idea of God’s love for me. I know that he is always thinking good thoughts about me, protects me, wants to shower me with good gifts, and will always love and be with me. ❤️
To know how much God our Father loves us is an amount I can’t even fathom. So thankful that he doesn’t keep a 6ft social distance from us!
i want to recommend Louie Giglio’s book, ‘Not Forsaken’. i feel it’s perfect for today’s theme: God our Father ❤️
We all bring our own unique stories to the table. I love reading everyone’s comments and how God speaks to each of us through His word. That in and of itself speaks to God’s heart for us and how he meets us where we are today.
Thinking about God as our Father reminded me of a conversation that I had with my dad. One of my siblings is not a believer. I often worry about him and pray for him to come to know Christ. I’ll never forget what my dad said to me one day when I was worrying about this. He said, “You know how much I love all of my children and how I pray for you all, but God loves you infinitely more and better than I do. He cares for you and your siblings and longs to bring each of you to Himself.” When the weight of that really sinks in, I know that God is always for us and that I can trust Him. Then I want to be pure as Jesus is pure because I want to see God in all His glory.
I am so happy that “God lavishes love upon us.” Throughout the last several weeks I have needed that love more than ever. I am starting to come to terms with my new normal. We are all having new normals right now but I never thought mine would include have to get a new car and a new place to live. I also never thought it would include comforting my sister from a far and not being able to hug her because of our loss. The first thing I plan on doing when the “Stay At Home” orders for our area are lifted is to hug my sister and son and daughter-in-law. After the death of my niece and I went back to work, I do private duty nursing for a four and a half year old little girl, I got my hugs from the family I work for but it just wasn’t the same. SRT and you my Christians sisters have helped me to keep going through all of this. Thank you for all your prayers. I pray everyday for each and every one of you. Be safe. God bless all of you.
Thank you Erin for your honesty. I once had a very hard time with God the father. My male relationships had not been good. At one point I could just feel His fatherly love. It is such an amazing beautiful love for His children. Do I sometimes forget that love, yes because I am a sinner and turn away out of shame. I want to remember the forgiveness that God grants me time again. I’m so thankful for His love, forgiveness, grace and the Word. I’m so grateful for this study with all you amazing honest women. ❤️
Mary V, I love your heart toward’s your daughter’s need to grasp and heal in the hands of her perfect heavenly Father. I want to stop and pray for the both of you: O Father God, you know this brokenhearted daughter of yours. I ask you to bring a supernatural healing to her as she and her mom read through this devotion together. May you give Mary gracious and truth-filled words as they discuss the passages read. Open both of their hearts even more than before to the unending love of our perfect Father. And may your name be glorified in their healing. Amen.
Diana, this brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much! My daughter did not express much, but that’s OK. She “heard“ the Word of God with it’s related devotion by Erica. I’m so grateful I am not alone.
I really do believe that God was prepping me for today’s reading. I had a dream of my dad last night… my dream was full of hurt and anger and sadness. As I made my coffee this morning I was asking God why I had dreamt that, and wondering if my dad was okay during the whole Covid mess.
My relationship with my dad has been non existent for a few years… it has been such a dark and messy road. I am slowly working at feeling free of all the weight and damage that my dad caused my family.
I sat down with coffee in hand, and read today’s scriptures and writing. Tears filled my eyes. Perhaps God was just reminding me that He is my Father. He loves me and will never leave me. I didn’t know I needed that reminder so desperately this morning. God is so good and I cannot fathom his love for me.
Praying for you Em
I’m thanking God right now. And I’m thinking of my daughter as I say this. Though she has many struggles and we have shed many tears and heartache’s, one thing is for sure, she knows that God her Father loves her. Because she is young she doesn’t quite understand His unconditional love yet but I’m grateful she knows she is loved by her Heavenly Father. But my heart also aches with the rest of you here as I can relate to most of you because my daughter does not have that relationship with her earthly father. I separated from him almost 3 years ago. My daughter cries so much and it’s often expressed some jealousy that she did not have a father like I did and that of her friends daddy’s. Please pray for her. And I pray that she will keep trying closer and closer to her heavenly father. She is asleep right now but in a little while we will read this devotional together. During this quarantine she and I have been doing SRT together. But I really love my alone time so I get up earlier to do my SRT and then do it again with her
What a good way to capture the struggle to know true intimacy with God the Father because of the imperfections of our earthly fathers. It can be too easy to look at people’s lives, whether our own or others, through an either-or lens. Perhaps one who had a great upbringing dismisses the idea of any discord with grasping our heavenly Father’s love, but in reality there is something lurking there unaware. I’ve seen those from abusive backgrounds either minimize the effect their father’s sin have on their souls, or they may be bitter toward him and believe they cannot be healed. In my own situation, I’ve found a need to periodically reevaluate my relationship with the Father as things from my upbringing still need addressed. Yet, I’m so thankful for the healing I’ve already received and can look back and see growing intimacy with my heavenly Father through all the trials and pains that come in this broken world. He truly is the perfect Father and I want to know him more. May His name be glorified forevermore. And thank you, Jesus, for coming to show us and make the way to the Father!
I lost my dad in October. He certainly was not a perfect man. But now that he is gone, his absence is huge and heartbreaking. It has made me understand the depths of a father’s love that we take for granted, even an imperfect human father.
Ashley, this passage is for sure confusing! The note for V.6 in my bible says “John is not asserting sinless perfection, but explaining that the believers life is characterized not by sin but by what is right.” It’s not that we’re perfect and sinless but that when we take a look at our choices and action our goal is that they point to Christ and a strife to be righteous and holy! I think more than anything the verse to remember is Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one may boast.” I hope this helps!
My earthly father cheated, lied, was abusive both physically and mentally. When he passed away I thought it would feel like a relief. It did a little, but mostly felt like a big gaping hole of grief. Grief of what I never had. I would watch dads with the girls and not understand how that felt or why I did not get that. Until many years later I have had the privilege to watch my dear sweet husband with our adopted daughter. How precious to watch the bond form out of nothing. When we brought her home she won’t let him touch or hold her. She would scream when he came near. Now she a middle schooler loves to talk to him about her day. Loves to tease him, love on him, and prefers him over the rest of us. I have had a front row seat to this love feast and to my own healing through God showing me His love through them. My husband would do anything for his girl. He adorns her and the feeling is mutual. My heavenly father loves me more than that. That is amazing!!
That’s such a beautiful and wonderful!! Thank you for sharing!
Kristen and ABBB, I, too, squirmed a little when I read those verses. I read several other translations (you can change that in the dropdown next to the verse reference) and found that The Message words it in the way I have always been taught. I hope this helps y’all. I know it helped me.
Ashley and Mandy, my understanding of this passage is that the one who practices sin does not belong to God means staying in a lifestyle of sin. We all will fall short of God’s holy standard in thought, in word, or in deed. The question is do we stay there? Or, do we confess our sin, receive forgiveness and cleansing and grow so that we will sin less and less in that area? Our Father is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love. He has promised that if we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
❤️
Wow! What an interesting contrast. My father was an alcoholic growing up. My childhood was tough. He drank every single day of it. At home closet drinking. My Father will be 18 years sober in August. He did not get sober until I was 21 years old. Now he is an amazing loving father. His love for me is unconditional. No amount of crazy things I’ve done in my life has ever swayed him from that, although there were a couple of things that distanced him from me, he never stopped loving me. So I guess I’ve experienced the best and worst of my father. His transformation only reiterated that God is good. All the time. My daughter doesn’t have a relationship with her father and I have had to watch her hurt and pain through the years. She is now 20 and she struggles with her decision making process. She believes in the Lord but her relationship with Him is not close. But really, whose is at 20? I long for her to walk with Him and seek Him daily and experience peace. I pray that for her every day. Oh what a wonderful Father He is that she doesn’t take as long as I did to figure that out. Praying for you ladies in this time. May you seek Him first and fall in love with him daily and experience the love and peace He so freely gives.
Tying to reply to Kelsi but haven’t learned how yet, so just a comment…. when you said, Kelsi, about every path being a stepping stone, and holding His hand, it brought to mind a beautiful picture of trying to get from one side of a mountain stream to the other…. with all of the slippery rocks, and rushing water, and stepping on nice flat stones sometimes, and missing the mark and choosing slippery stones sometimes…. and I look up from my slipping, and He is there, holding my hand…. holding me firm, and smiling lovingly, and I read in His eyes, “Don’t worry, child, I am here…” oh my….
Cindy!! Yes!! Thinking about the slippery stepping stones on a mountain stream really helps to understand what this kind of love is. It’s messy and beautiful and he’s right there with you in it.
1 John 3:1 in the NLT:
“See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him.”
I love the exclamation point in that verse. Whether my earthly father was all that I needed or not, my heavenly Father always is. Whether my earthly father was loving or not, my heavenly Father always is. Whether my earthly father was proud of me as his child or not, my heavenly Father always is. God the Father, God my Father, is worthy really of more than one exclamation point.
The second part of that one verse is sobering. It reminds me that unbelievers just don’t know and thus can’t understand the wonderful relationship we have with God – and that they can have it also. This verse reminds me not to be so comfortable with God that I forget to share what I have with Him with others. There is a world out there that needs to know. May they come to recognize Him through our behavior and attitude as God’s children. Let us reflect the exclamation point of His great love for them.
So grateful for a loving Heavenly Father!
I’ve been singing and thinking of the words to the song, “How Deep The Father’s Love For Us” lately.
“How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only son, to make a wretch his treasure”
…The whole song is beautiful. I don’t know why God had such love and mercy and us, but I am thankful that he does.
Amen!
When I think of “father” I think of my dad. My dad is about as good as it gets as far as earthly fathers can. So, I light up when I think of God as my father. Because the love my dad has shown me is unconditional- though no one can love me as much as God, the father. It’s just a beautiful description of his love for me and I am amazed by it everyday.
Erin, thank you for your words. While I have a hard time relating to them, it’s good to see God the Father through another’s eyes. I don’t have a good relationship with my dad. He lies, cheats on his wife and is pretty selfish. But seeing him as a human with faults makes me appreciate and draw closer to God the father because God is the the perfect Father that will never lie to me or leave me. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the father that no human can ever be and he loves me so completely. That relationship gives me confidence, because my Heavenly Father made me just as I am and is cheering me on to purse healthy choices and relationship with him.
I am a little confused. I keep reading verses in this plan that if I am sinning, I must not be in Christ. Help me grapple with this, please. I have not dug into the Word much through my life and done more devotional type reading. Thanks sisters.
Ashley, I too struggled with this in today’s reading. In earlier passages it talked about denying your sins is like calling God a liar. This seemed contradictory to me when reading today’s scripture. I would love if someone could explain how these scriptures are to be interpreted. I sin every single day. Does this mean I am not born of God?
Part of walking in the light is seeing my sin as He sees it; this means when I sin, I admit it before God and acknowledge that what I’ve done is wrong in His sight. If I say “I don’t sin,” I’m calling God a liar because He says all have sinned (Romans 3:23), and elsewhere in Scripture we read that we sin even though we don’t want to because we are still in our earthly bodies, which are affected by sin (Romans 7). The difference is that we sin “by accident”, so to speak; it is no longer our desire nor the defining characteristic of our lives. The ESV says “practice sin” in these passages instead of “commits sin”, and a note in my KJV study Bible also notes that “practice” is a key word here. As I understand it, sin is an interruption in the believer’s life, not a habit. We “fall into sin”, and then we confess (1 John 1:9), and thank God we have an advocate whose blood cleanses us from all sin! (1John 2:1, 1:7) This is different from someone who is not born of God because they “practice” sin, doing it over and over again without the conviction we experience when we sin. If Christians never sinned, we would not need all these verses telling us that if we sin we have an advocate, and if we confess He is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse us. We are to avoid sin and to practice being pure as He is pure; but when we slip up because we are still human and not in heaven yet, He forgives and cleanses. I hope this helps clarify these passages for you!
Beautifully said. Thank you. ❤️
A beautiful explanation. Well written. Thank you.
God is Father, God is Father, God is my Father!! You are God child, I am his child, I am his beloved child!!!
I was blessed to have the most wonderful earthly father and I was a daddy’s girl through and through, so to think of God as my heavenly father, so much more than even my earthly father, is stunning and humbling. Today’s reading reminds me of the song by Amy Grant, from the early ’80s, My Father’s Eyes. I have to continually seek to have His eyes. Thank God for his patience and forgiveness.
Amen!
I gave my life to Jesus in the 80s. Amy Grant was very popular back then. And I so much remember this song! But I also remember the song of the very day I got saved, “Look what has happened to me“
Erin Davis, thank you for your works. I too don’t have a relationship with my father and I too struggle to fully understand God as a Loving Father. I appreciate your words and these scriptures that remind me I am loved! Thank you!
I’m confused, the scripture as I took it was saying that if we sin we aren’t Gods.. I don’t want to sin but I know I do still everyday, I ask for forgiveness of course, but I’m still a sinner. As I read the passages today, 1john 3- it says everyone born of God does not sin because his seed remains in him, he is not able to sin.
Ashley, you are so right. It is confusing and we all sin every day. This passage is challenging that people that actively engage in sin and make no efforts for Christ to work in them are not with Him. They go about sinning with no regard to Him and how He wants to work in their lives. That is how I understand it. Someone else may have a better understanding though! Keep seeking and keep asking great questions!
Yeah I was confused myself.
I read a commentary that these passages are talking more about the continual practice of habitual sin…. or deliberate defiance. It said the verb tense for cannot and does not is the same so I think the translation is a little tricky. I look at it like: Where is my heart when I sin? Am I doing it anyway because I don’t care? Everyone is going to sin and miss the mark, but repentance (and being born again) is turning away from your old way of living… changing the way you live… changing your heart.
John here is talking about habitual sin, a lifestyle of choosing sin over God. This is a kind of ambivalence towards God and a disregard His law (1 John 3:4).
Just the fact that you’re frustrated with your sin and repent of your sin should give you confidence that your heart is postured towards God! and praise Him for the forgiveness He brings with that ❤️
I think the sin here refers to a lifestyle of sin.
It read the same to me as well.
Today’s reading was very reassuring. Even though I’ve been told many times, it’s all nice being reminded of His love for us. It is like no other and is exactly what l need during this time.
The biggest issues that arise in my life are usually because I have chosen not to abide in Christ and so my own way. So thankful that God is a Father that welcomes us back and embraces us.
“What great love”…it’s all about love I abide in him because he loves me. He is my heavenly father and because of that it makes me respond with love because I know that every path in my life is a stepping stone back towards him no matter where I turn if I keep looking at him and abiding in him and holding his hand I am redeemed, set free, and loved once again. What a great great love.
Naana, I agree! This was wonderful to read after reading yesterday’s reading. I thought the reflection was great as well, especially for those people who don’t have a good relationship with their earthly father. ❤️
This is a beautiful continuation of yesterday’s reading … not only do we need to want that which God wants for us and not the things of this world .. we also need to remind ourselves that we are his children .. he loves us
This morning’s readings gave me such peace, I have read them many times but today I felt His love surrounding me, holding me, and reassuring me that I am His. I pray that each of you have this peace, His peace.
❤️
So wonderfully said, Kristen.
Thank you!
Praying for more of this new experience, this real truth of who God truly is.. a loving living Father who loves His children to infinity and beyond beyond beyond… without judgement..and unconditionally…
Sending Easter hugs your way..❤
I found this teaching about knowing the Father if anyone wants to listen: https://youtu.be/OuOK9_sPabY
It’s by Tim Keller.
Yes, I grew up Catholic and thinking God was looking down ready to get me. I don’t recall learning much at my church or at CCD. I didn’t read the Bible and thought that the Bible was contradictory. I was clueless and totally wrong. I was tormented by the enemy. I didn’t realize God’s power and the truth and power of His Word. Do I still struggle with how to view God? Yes! But I Easter I was told about His love again. I was told about His voice and how He speaks to me. We sing a song that says that He dances over me while I am unaware’ How amazing! I heard Tim Keller talking about God being the Hound of Heaven. How comforting to hear that! He comes after a sinner like me. His will is that none should perish, but that all would come to repentance. I’m more peaceful recently. That’s from God. May the Holy Spirit help me and all others that struggle and want to know God the Father.