those about whom nobody knows any thing.” She referred to the common, undistinguished folk. Do you fit into this category? Do you just carry on from day to day, unnoticed, unsung, maybe even unappreciatd ? No one seems to know that you even exist. As a busy housewife, for example, it may seem that your husband and family take you for granted. Listen, the Bible says that the world doesn’t comprehend or take note of you, but God is the One who is mindful of us. After all, He takes care of the eternal record! But the glories of this text are not complete without sharing First John 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet ap pear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” You know, whenever the word beloved is found in Scripture, it re fers to that blessed, intimate fellow ship which is so overwhelming in our communion with the Lord. “Beloved NOW!” Only three letters and yet what assurance and confidence we gain for our hearts! Bight this mo ment we are the sons of God. Feel ings don’t really enter into it. It’s a settled promise assured in the in spired Word of God. I remember when a friend of mine got a Polaroid camera. He very kind ly invited me to borrow it when we went on a few days’ vacation. You know, it’s quite an intriguing device. We could take a picture and then 60 seconds later see exactly what we looked like. There was no need for a few days for development and en largements. We saw what we were like in one minute’s time. Have you ever stopped to think that as far as salvation is concerned, we don’t even have to wait the length of a Pola roid camera’s tr a d itio n a l speed? When by faith we receive Jesus Christ as Saviour, we are immedi ately His children. That’s what “now” means, right this instant!
Think of it in this fashion by com parison. I tell my son Jimmy, “You should be a good boy.” That would mean that my fondest desire for him is that he would behave. If, however, I add that further statement, as we might find in this portion of Scrip ture, the meaning changes signifi cantly. In other words, I say to him, “Jimmy, you should be a good boy . . . and you are!’’ Do you catch the blessedness of that? Can you see what the Spirit of God is saying here? “Behold, pause and marvel, from what country God has bestowed freely His love upon us that we should be called the sons of God . . . and we are!” What a wonderful note of possession and grace this signi fies! John testifies, “There fo re , the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.” Now, this doesn’t mean that other people fail to take notice of us. We know that isn’t the case. What is behind this is the fact that unsaved people cannot compre hend what we’re doing. You know that’s the case. When you drive off to Sunday school or church, look across the street. You may see your neighbor perhaps polishing his golf clubs, digging around in his front yard, working on his boat, or any number of things. He’ll never under stand why you’d want to take prime Sunday time to go sit in a stuffy church. It is impossible to explain this divine love of God to him. This is that which puts the desire in our hearts to have fellowship and wor ship with the Lord. You may never make “Who’s Who,” or be written up by your local paper; the world may not know you but never forget that Almighty God is mindful of you! The famed biographer Ida Tarbell, in celebration of her 80th birthday, was asked to name some of the great est people she had ever met. She smiled, replying softly, “Why, the greatest people I’ve ever met are 4
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