Adopted as a child of God
Daniel's Baptism Day, April 21st, 1991
“See what love the Father
has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.”
1 John 3:1
In today’s
readings, God’s love is compared to the love of a father for his children. Each
of us has an earthly father – someone who should strive to protect and provide
for his family. In this life, fathers (like the rest of us) are imperfect, yet
most men truly want to live up to the ideal of fatherhood and do their best to
care for and love their children. God shows us what fatherhood is meant to be,
and He promises that this intimate and close relationship will be fulfilled in
eternity. We are already His children – but the full meaning of this will only
be revealed when, at last, we see Him as He is. And, just as children often
resemble their fathers, John tells us that “we shall be like Him.”
In the Gospel, Jesus
also speaks of Himself in terms His listeners could understand, saying “I am
the Good Shepherd.” Jesus, who is one with the Father, promises to watch over His
flock, even at the cost of His own life. These sheep are His own, and He knows
each of them by name. He continues to seek out “other sheep that do not belong
to this fold,” so that all will be one flock, gathered in His tender care.
God’s love is so
completely undeserved, yet so deep that He willingly died for us. Like children
with pure hearts, we should love this Father who made us, this God who became
man so that He could suffer and die in our place.
The old Baltimore
catechism had a sweet, simple way of teaching children to love God using a
series of questions and answers, one of which went like this: Q. Why did God
make you? A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this
world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.
As children of
such a loving God, whatever our age, we should never forget those simple truths
about a Father who created us for love.
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