Day 330: 1 John 3:1–3

Look at how great a love the Father has given us, that we should be called God’s children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him (v. 1).

One of our greatest needs as we try to live sanely in our tornadic culture is simplicity—surrendering ourselves to the “one thing” that ensures everything else of great value. We see a perfect example of this concept in the apostle John. As the “disciple Jesus loved,” John chose to believe and fully receive the love of Christ above all other things. What was the result? Just as Solomon asked for wisdom and became the wisest man in history, John prioritized love and became a flooding wellspring of affection. When God esteems our prayers, we get what we asked and far more.

I originally learned 1 John 3:1 in the King James Version: “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us.” Keep in mind that all the major Bible translations still trace back to the Greek for accuracy. By using the word “behold,” I think the apostle John was saying, “Can’t you see it? Don’t you perceive it? The love of God surrounds us with evidences! Just look!”

If we asked God to help us more accurately grasp the true disposition, character, and exquisite quality of His love for us, our lives would dramatically change! Because John chose to prioritize love, God opened his eyes to behold it and his soul to perceive it. Paul discovered something similar and prayed for all of us to do likewise. His prayer thrills me that we might “know this love that surpasses knowledge” (Eph. 3:19). I think Paul wanted us to experience God’s love to the full measure of our capacity through the Spirit of God within us, then try to comprehend that its true measure and nature are far beyond that very experience. Just a taste. Just a glimpse. We are invited to know a love that is beyond human knowledge.

Beloved, God’s love for you exceeds all reason—yes, His love for you! First John 4:16 says, “We know and rely on the love God has for us.” The word for “know” in this verse is the same one Paul employed in Ephesians 3:19. You see, we can’t define God’s love, but we can behold it, experience it, and rely on it. Is 1 John 4:16 a reality for you? His love for you and me is an absolute reality, but—we can be so emotionally unhealthy that we refuse to experience it and absorb it into our hearts and minds.

First John 3:19–20 is powerful in this regard: “This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” Ironically, many people are resistant to God because they imagine Him to be very condemning. In reality, humans are far more condemning and often emotionally dangerous. I am intrigued by a statement about Christ recorded in John 2:24: “Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.”

I can almost imagine Christ saying to humanity, “I am perplexed with all your talk about whether or not you can trust Me. Actually, your heart can be at complete rest in My presence. My love is perfectly healthy. The greater risk is in My entrusting Myself to you.” You see, our unhealthy hearts not only condemn us; they condemn others. I have seen marriages destroyed because one spouse refused to accept the reality of the other spouse’s love for him or her. Our hearts sometimes even condemn God as we decide for ourselves that He can’t be trusted and that He doesn’t really love us unconditionally. Our natural hearts are very deceitful and destructive on their own.

I have had the privilege of getting to know many believers over the course of this ministry. And based on what I’ve seen, I am convinced that few people possess a virtually whole heart who have not pursued it deliberately in Christ. We don’t have to be raised in severely dysfunctional homes to develop unhealthy hearts. All we have to do is expose ourselves to life. Life can be heartless and mean. Purely and simply, life hurts. We can’t check ourselves out of life, however. Instead, God hopes that we’ll turn to Him to heal us from the ravages of natural life and make us healthy ambassadors of abundant life in an unhealthy world.

Please know that God can heal your heart no matter what got it in such a condition. First John 3:20 tells us that God is greater than our hearts! And He knows everything! Yet knowing all things, God loves us lavishly. Perfectly. Unfailingly. If He can heal my shattered, self-destructive heart, He can heal anyone’s.

Beloved, Satan is a liar! He knows if you and I take this thing about God’s love seriously, we might become a John or a Paul in our generations. Oh, let’s glorify God, spite the devil, and do it! It’s not too late. Take your pulse. If your heart is still beating, it’s worth healing! Here’s the catch, however: God’s method of healing a condemning heart is to love it to death . . . then create in us a new heart. A healthier heart. A heart filled with faith instead of fear. His perfect love is the only thing that will drive out that fear of ours.