We Are All Children

Human beings have more potential than we realise. Think of our distant ancestors, who lived in caves, drew on walls, and had fire as the pinnacle of technology. It would blow their minds to see skyscrapers, AI-generated images, and rockets flying into space.

Some think we’ve reached the limit of our potential. But really, we’ve barely scratched the surface. We are capable of growing into something incredible beyond our imagination (1 Corinthians 2:9; 1 John 3:2). Yet everyone takes one of two paths—toward extreme good or profound evil—and which one we follow depends on our spiritual parentage.

John uses the term “child of God” differently than we’re used to. To him, our sin makes us all orphans, and we must choose whether to join God’s family or Satan’s. Like in earthly families, we gradually come to resemble our spiritual parent simply by living with them. When God is your Father, you begin to pick up His habits, His character, and His way of seeing the world. And by becoming more like Him—even in small ways—you reach a far greater potential than any human art, science, or philosophy could ever offer.

Like in any household, God has expectations for His children: Christians don’t sin (1 John 3:4-10). John means this the way a parent might say, “We don’t curse in this house.” It isn’t condemnation; it’s a standard we strive to live by because we love our Father and want to become who He created us to be.

The first step toward that future is simple: believe in Jesus and love one another. By doing that, we walk in the footsteps of the God who made us.

Watch the full sermon here.