1 John 3:1-3 - by Don Neuendorf
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
There was no punctuation in the original manuscripts, OK? We know this sentence is not a question because of the form; it begins with an imperative. "LOOK!" (In Greek, idete) "Look at the greatness of love..."
So our English translations take some liberties with the punctuation. They have an exclamation point after both these first two sentences, probably because of the punchy aorist (one time, immediate action) imperative that begins it all. But the way it reads in English... what if we changed the punctuation to a question mark?
I know. I know. That's not in the text. But bear with me for a moment...
This command does invite us to ask the question, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God?"
How would you answer it?
How much time have we got?
John is amazed. He is flabbergasted. Looking at what God has done, that he has called us his children, that he has lavished such love on us, how could he express it?
How great IS the love of the Father for you? If you spent even a few moments to express it (not your feeble love for him - but to try to put into words his love for you) what would the result be?
I respectfully suggest that if you did that, the results would be pathetic. You wouldn't be able to come close to a worthy description. But on the other hand the results might also be profound. The act of contemplating the love of God would deeply challenge your worldview (your view of the economy, for instance - or whatever other thing fills your thoughts today).
I have often been frustrated in the attempt to put my love for my wife into words. I've tried my hand at a few poems. They come off sounding stupid. I wrote a song once. You don't want to hear it. I've even scribbled a little on a drawing, but threw away the efforts fast. If I cannot express such a meager thing as my earthly love, and yet enjoy thinking about the wonderful relationship we share, then how much more amazing and worthy of contemplation is God's love for us?
If you have read this far, perhaps you're willing to take a chance. Why not use the comment feature of this blog for once, and let's take a shot at answering the question, "How great IS the love of the Father that lavished on us, that we should be called children of God?
Hmmm???