“Whoever loves has been born of God…” (1 John 4:7)
The world is populated by billions of people with vast differences in age, language, skin color, socioeconomic circumstances, worldview, and so on. Yet all these people descend from one couple: Adam and Eve. As a result, they share some important characteristics that they inherited from their first ancestors. These characteristics distinguish them from other living creatures on our planet and make them recognizable as human beings.
In a similar way, John says, the group of people who are “born of God” can be distinguished from the rest. Their lives are marked by love. In another book of the Bible, John explains who these people are: “To all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13
Every Christian is a child of Adam and Eve, but also a child of God. He or she is part of the world’s population, but at the same time belongs to God’s family. If you are “born of God,” you inherit His righteousness and love. By this, others can recognize that you belong to Him.
Are you “born of God” through faith? How is that evident in your life?