Check It Out!

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1

Behold! Now there is a word that should make you stop, pay attention, to ponder. As far as a call for your attention, it should rank up near the top of attention getters. Hey, check it out. Could you look at this? Did you see that? All of these are fine calls for your attention. But Behold. This implies for us to wonder, to be in awe, it lets us know that we are pondering something bigger than our understanding, our comprehension, ourselves. Behold. We are going to experience something out of the ordinary.

That is kind of what happened to Moses. He was out taking care of his father in-law’s flock of sheep. It was an ordinary day. Just like the rest of the 40 years worth of days of tending sheep he had been doing. And then something caught his eye. Over on the side of a mountain he saw a fire.

Depending upon which way the wind was blowing, this could be a huge concern. Knowing how fast a brush fire can race across the dry terrain, you can be sure that Moses watched that fire very closely to see what would happen. The longer he watched the flickering flames, the more he wondered why it was that it wasn’t spreading, in fact, why the very bush that was burning wasn’t being consumed. The Bible says, behold, the bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Now that is different. That is amazing. How could that be possible?

And so it was with the birth of Jesus. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son. But that is not possible! Everyone knows being pregnant and being a virgin just isn’t possible at the same time. But it happened! Something bigger than life was taking place- Behold.

Then there was the baptism of Jesus. Then Jesus, when He had been baptized, came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him…a voice came from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Well that don’t happen too often! This awesome!

     And just as amazing is I John 3:1 It starts out with this word, Behold. Hey! Stop and check this out! This is out of the ordinary. It is not something that you would expect. It is bigger than our understanding, than our comprehension. It is bigger than ourselves. And…it is absolutely amazing!

Can I paraphrase this for us?

Check out the kind of absolutely crazy love that God has drenched us with- We get to be one of God’s kids! What!

That little verse ought to rock your world! He loves you so much, that just knowing you wasn’t enough. He just had to adopt you. And now… you get to call Him, Dad.

A Few Q’s for You

Do you ever think of God as, Dad?

How does this make a difference in your life?

Take a moment and thank God for being your Dad. In fact, start your prayer by saying, “Dad,…” After you have prayed like that, what difference did that make in your heart as you prayed?

Write your answers in a “comment”. Keep it anonymous if it is too personal. I’ll pray for you.