“Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.”

In this verse we are once again reminded of God’s view of us as His beloved children. The sentiment is warm and full of love. God is our Father and we are the children of His family and always will be. He will never lose us or throw us off, but will continue to teach us and make us into the image of His Son, our Saviour, Jesus. We might think we are mature and clever about certain aspects of life, but in reality we are only small children learning from their Father in heaven. We must listen to Him and obey that we will grow up in Christ and be strong in faith, hope and love.

God constrains us to listen to Him and not to the folly of false teachers who would lead us away from our relationship with our Father through disobedience and false faith. There are many in our day who would lead us down false paths and into the destitution of the bondage of reliance on them. There are many who seek control and authority over others for their own satisfaction. They propagate a false gospel so that we look to man and not God and become reliant on the acceptance of the social group rather than walking with God. There are so many cults, factions and denominations that it is impossible to pick your way amongst them and find truth. Truth is where it has always been – in the Word of God and we must know it and study it to stay close to the Father.

“For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts;”

2 Timothy 4:3

There are those who seek only personal satisfaction and a veneer of religion to satisfy their conscience that they believe in something, but they do not seek the truth of God, but a belief system that will suit their lifestyle choices. The media is full of self-proclaimed teachers and preaches who will satisfy the desire for comfort and healing and not talk about the painful issues that tend to trouble us more. We get the situation where people will follow leaders and hang onto their comforting words, and neglect Christ and their souls health. God calls us as His beloved children to believe in Him.

If we follow His righteousness we will be righteous. If we practice righteousness we are demonstrating that we belong to the Lord of righteousness. The loving children of their Father will seek to be like Him and to please Him and will therefore take on His characteristics and obey His will. This is what it means to be a dear child.