When I read 1 John, I am reminded of parenting. No matter how old your children get, it is a struggle to put the affirmation before the correction. Ears can become listening ears when we start with affirmation and connection. People are more receptive when we lead with love. We are in the process of transformation like any other, because we are God’s children. John builds on this affirmation …
“Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be, has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (3:2-3)
John’s point can be seen in summary… “Right now you are God’s children. Don’t worry about what you will be. (Ambition should not be based on achievement but on Christlikeness.) Bank on transformation – the future holds the potential that we will be more than what we are right now, for God is making us like his Son. We hold that hope and we share that hope, because within the process we experience repentance and forgiveness.
You are God’s beloved … don’t forget it!