Jude 2 KJV
[2] “Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.”
What does it mean to be a child of God? According to verse one, we are sanctified, which means set apart. We are also preserved, which means carefully watched and guarded. Finally, we see in verse one that we are called. That means that it was the Godhead that took the initiative in our lives. What a blessing to know that the Father has set us apart, and the Son carefully watches and guards us. It is a blessing to know that salvation began in the heart of God, not in the will of man. We have been called by the Spirit to come to salvation and to serve in His Kingdom. Every man has a will, and every man must make his own choice, but it is God who calls us. That is what it means to be a child of God.
However, that is not all it means! We will all agree that we received more than we expected when we got saved. When most people come to Christ, there is a desire to go to Heaven and miss Hell. While the Lord desires the same, He wants to do so much more than that. He is interested in adding things to our lives from the moment we put our trust in Him.
He doesn’t just want to add, but He wants to multiply these things! He adds to our life mercy, peace, and love. His desire is for these three things to increase as we grow in Christ. The mercy of God gives us alleviation, the peace of God gives us assurance, and the love of God gives us affection. We do not serve Him because we have to but because we want to! We serve Him with the knowledge that every day we can find mercy and the peace that passes all understanding, not just given but multiplied! He provides more than we need every day that we live. It is such a blessing to be a child of God!