God is the Father of everybody who has put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are His children (John 1:12-13); He has not only brought them to birth but He nurtures them, and a relationship develops between them – a bond of love and trust. The Lord loves us and we trust Him with a child's love which wants to please its parent. So we do not want to continue to grieve our Father by our selfish rebellion. We desire to please Him. But some people do not care about offending Father God: it makes us wonder if they are really His children.

'The One who was born of God' is Jesus (1 John 5:1). As a man, He was the 'firstborn among many brothers' (Romans 8:29) and is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11). So Jesus is our 'Big Brother'. As we continue to shelter under His shed blood, the Father keeps us eternally safe (John 17:15). He loves His children. He does not want them to come to harm, and has the power to protect the people who belong to Him.

Our worst enemy is the devil. He is bitterly opposed to Father God and hates God's children. Every child of God has been rescued from Satan's evil 'kingdom of darkness' (Colossians 1:13), leaving him furious (Revelation 12:12). And yet the children of God are safe as long as they stay under the Lord's protection. To wander off and be lured to obey Satan's lies is so foolish when God's protection is eternally secure.

If you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, these three characteristics should be true of you. Firstly, whatever your record of sinful thoughts, words and actions, you will be personally grieved that You have caused pain to Your heavenly Father. So you do not want to continue sinning, because your relationship with Him is precious to you . Secondly, you will appeal to the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to take away your sin and keep you eternally safe. Thirdly, you will not be in fear of Satan because you know that Your 'Big Brother' will protect you. As you develop all three characteristics, you will grow in your faith and know the pleasure of Your heavenly Father.