1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:1-3 (NKJV)
This is by far on my favorite scriptures of all time… Just the language will captivate your heart. But there’s more to this scripture beside the language. Beneath all the imagery lies the very heart of God. A perfect picture of grace, desire and destiny. The first word behold means to see with zeal or to stand in awe of. Often times we take for granted what God has given us. This marvelous love that is so beautiful and radiant is something we should not take lightly. We are given the beauty of love so freely by our Father, which is Jesus Christ himself.. the atoning one who redeemed us. (1 John 4:9-10) To simply be accepted as a child of God, even though as Christians we have constantly turned our backs on him, his love was still freely gifted (bestowed) to us.
I love this word Beloved… How awesome is it that God would call us his Beloved. For you and I to be known as his friend, his desire, his love. There’s richness in just being adorned by heaven as the Beloved of Christ. As we await our true calling and destiny, we understand when He (being Jesus) appears – we shall be like him. Seeing ourselves reflecting his heart, his emotions, his lifestyle, his love… We don’t know who we are or what we will become, but our hope is not in ourselves. We eagerly wait for the one who will show us how to be pure, how to be the Beloved. It is Him, who we will be beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, transformed in his image – 2 Cor. 3:18. We who find hope in Christ, will purify ourselves. I relish how the MSG version of verse 3 lays it out there – All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own.
We stay ready … not get ready when we assume the time is near. We STAY READY, with the GLISTENING PURITY of Jesus’ life as a model or reflection of our own. We are purified through Christ, because he is pure.. Our lives reflects Jesus, and when it does – we glisten. This is hope; this is what we are living for. This is the gift we are to Christ… the Pure Bride. Behold, you and I are the Bestowed Beloved!
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Behold: The Bestowed Beloved – Awake Conference (Sunday session) **Was under the weather, but still a great youth conference.
1 John 3:1-4, 1 John 4:9-10, 2 Cor. 3:18, Behold, Behold: The Bestowed Beloved, Behold: The Bestowed Bride, Beloved, Bestowed Bride, Children of God, God, God's Grace, grace, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Purity
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