See what love the Father has given 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. 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 hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Pondering and meditating: My wife, who works with foods, likes to remind our family of the difference between merely "clean" (free from all visible soil) and "sterile" (free from bacteria). This distinction on pots and utensils can be the difference between illness from tiny microbes, and wholesome eating. God's cleaning and renewing work in our hearts goes as well beyond the merely visible, to those seemingly trivial flaws and remains of sin, which untreated, could undo us. God's cleansing love is life-bringing, and makes us more like God. Where do I detect God's cleansing hand at work in my life?
Prayer: Your love for us, wonderful Father, has made us your children. Thank you that you don't stop working in us until we are fully like you. Sometimes the heat and abrasiveness of your work hurts. Give us strength and wisdom not to resist, but to work with you to bring life-affirming purity into our inmost selves. Amen.
