The Father's Love

Last night I was reading from the book New Wineskins and he was quoting out of 1 John. I started reading that letter and saw a few excellent verses:

1 John 2:1-2 NIV
[1] "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father---Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. [2] He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

1 John 3:1 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."

These three verses are so foundational.

Working in reverse order, the Father loves us, lavishes His love upon us and calls us His children! So, God is not angry with us. He doesn't hate us. He doesn't do bad things to us. He is not just waiting for us to sin that He might punish us. We are His dearly loved children and He delights in loving us. If we could hold onto this truth daily, our lives and thinking could be transformed. He desires for us to learn to walk in the truth of this statement.

Secondly, the most extreme and complete example of God's love us is the fact that He sent Jesus to be an atonement for us all. He has paid the price for our redemption, and sits at the Father's right hand speaking on our behalf as our advocate. As I write that, I am aware of the seemingly contradictory thinking when compared against my thoughts on 1 John 3:1, described above. The image of Jesus pleading our case before God the Father as a judge, who is waiting to strike us with judgement does not align with the revelation of the Father that Jesus showed us. It was the will of the Father that Jesus came to earth, and His perfect plan that set us all free, so why would he now be judging us? Instead of defending us, I imagine that Jesus and the Father are speaking of our purpose and potential and our forgiveness, which has already been extended to cover all our sins.

Yes Lord, help me to grasp the truth of these verses. I want to fully understand the reality of You love for me. I want to rest securely in these truths, and help others to understand them as well.