Our Daily Bread Jan 6
Depths of Love / By: Elisa Morgan See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
1 John 3:1
Today's Scripture & Insight:
1 John 3:1–6 (NIV):
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on 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. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Three-year-old Dylan McCoy had just learned to swim when he fell through a rotted plywood covering into a forty-foot deep, stone-walled well in his grandfather’s backyard. Dylan managed to stay afloat in ten feet of water until his father went down to rescue him. Firefighters brought ropes to raise the boy, but the father was so worried about his son that he’d already climbed down the slippery rocks to make sure he was safe.
Oh, the love of a parent! Oh, the lengths (and depths) we will go for our children!
When the apostle John writes to believers in the early church who were struggling to find footing for their faith as false teaching swirled about them, he extends these words like a life-preserver: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1). Naming believers in Jesus as “children” of God was an intimate and legal labeling that brought validity to all who trust in Him.
Oh, the lengths and depths God will go for His children!
There are actions a parent will take only for their child—like Dylan’s dad descending into a well to save his son. And like the ultimate act of our heavenly Father, who sent His only Son to gather us close to His heart and restore us to life with Him (vv. 5–6).
Today’s Hymns:
What Love is This
Love’s Sacrifice
Scripture to Respond:
Jeremiah 31:3
3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
Psalm 103:11-12
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Reflection:
When did God deliver you from the dark and despaired deep well? How did you experience His taking you to the land of hope?
No matter how deep or far, God will act for His children! When we are in the depth of sin, Father sent His only Son to sacrifice on the cross for our sin, so that we can get close to Him, rebuild relationship with Him and live in Him. Is your heart touched by this matchless love?
Prayer:
Dear Father, thank You, when I was stranded in a deep well, You not only came down and rescued me from the well, but also brought me back to You!
Wong Wai Tung (Chief executive officer of The Great Wall Education Foundation) & Sam Chow (Administrative officer of The Great Wall Education Foundation) Translated by Esther Leung
