Worship

All-Saints Day                       November 1, 2026
1 John 3:1-3                           Pastor Wolfe

God Knows. We Know.

I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but apparently on Tuesday of this week voters around the US will go to the polls for what I’ve been assured is the most important election in the history of our nation. That’s what I’ve heard at least, though I’m pretty sure they’ve said that about every election in at least the last ten years. So what’s going to happen on election day? What happens if the Democrats win? Or the Republicans? There’s an old-fashioned phrase that people use without thinking today that we should reclaim for times when we don’t know what’s going to happen. God knows. If you’re worked up about the election or afraid of what might happen if your team loses, remember that phrase. God knows. He knows every vote, every result, every consequence. And he’s worked out every piece of it to fit into his eternal plan to work all things out for the eternal good of those who love him. God knows.

I think the way many people feel about the election mirrors the way many people feel about life in general. Between politics, economy, health things, and AI, it’s no wonder that the single word defining our times is “unsettled.” No one knows what’s coming next. But have peace in knowing that God knows. And you know what else God knows? He knows you. And that’s what this part of John’s letter reminds us about on this All-Saints Sunday.

The Apostle John was an old man when he wrote the letter that we call 1 John, probably over 90 years old. He had seen a thing or two. He was an original disciple of Jesus, one of the Twelve. He was there at the foot of the cross when Jesus died, and among the first on Easter morning to see the empty tomb. He saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain and ascending into heaven. He was there at Pentecost and he saw the Gospel spread beyond Jerusalem and beyond Israel. But out of all the Twelve, he alone lived to old age to die a natural death. John lived on as James and Stephen and Peter and Paul were put to death for their faith. John kept preaching at Ephesus while Nero threw Christians to the lions in Rome.

To where does our old-age OG disciple turn for peace in a world of turmoil? To the simplest of Bible teachings. God’s love for us. You can almost hear his wonder as he writes, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” The translators even punctuate both sentences with exclamation marks. John marvels at the fact that God doesn’t call us “people” of God, or “followers” of God. Not even “servants” of God. All those are true of course but our relationship with God is deeper. “How great the love…that we should be called CHILDREN of God.”

On this All-Saints Day, we celebrate the beautiful reality that we are children of God—brought into this family not by birth or circumstance, but by choice. It’s adoption, but on a grand and cosmic, eternal scale. Think about what Scripture tells us about mankind by nature. Humanity lost the right to be counted in God’s family when Adam and Eve fell into sin. God created Adam and Eve in his own image – perfect and righteous like him. But after their sin in the garden in Genesis 3, listen to how their son Seth is described in Genesis 5: “When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image.” Every child born to sinful man and woman is born like them – separated from God by sin. Rebellious. Ephesians 2 says, “by nature objects of wrath.” And we add to that separation of sin every time we turn from God’s path to our own. Every time we choose sin instead of service, self instead of others. No, we don’t deserve to be God’s children.

Yet John is confident here. How can we be so sure? Because God wouldn’t have sent Jesus to die for our sins if he didn’t love us. And God wouldn’t have put his name on us in baptism if he didn’t want us to be his children. The world doesn’t understand or know this. They see Christians as people who suffer just like them and know just as little about what’s coming as everyone else. And it’s true – we don’t know everything. But you know what, God knows. And that’s enough. I don’t need to know everything if I know God knows. I don’t need to fear anything, or despair over anything. Because God knows. Brothers and sisters, that will make you weird to the world. They won’t get your refusal to get wrapped up in politics. They won’t get your calmness in the face of tragedy. They won’t understand your love and forgiveness toward those who don’t love or forgive you. John says, “The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” You see, our peace and our hope comes from knowing that God knows. But our lives are guided by what we know.

Listen to John: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” We know what’s coming, though there is a lot God has left to our imagination! What will it be like in heaven? Will there be beds and pillows and houses and streets and cities? Will there be gardens and trees and rivers and seas? Will there be pets and chocolate chip cookies? Will we get to study under some of the greatest teachers of all time, or will we know everything perfectly? Will my body look twenty years old or forty years old? Will we eat? John says, “Now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.”

But there is enough even here to fuel our imagination! John says that “we will be like him.” Physically, with perfect bodies, but John probably means more. We’ll be like him spiritually, perfect and holy. We’ll be like Adam and Eve again, in the image of God. Our sinful flesh and its weakness to temptation will be gone. Guilt and shame for what we’ve done. No more. No more questions, no more doubts. Can you imagine? Can you imagine having only pure and peaceful and happy thoughts in your mind all the time? Can you imagine the joy of loving perfectly all the time?

A book we’re reading in our faculty Bible study this year had the line in it, “The first person you meet in heaven will be yourself.” The real you. The “you” without the shackles of sin that drag us down. And that’s not all. John says that we will see Jesus as he is too. I love the picture of Jesus the good shepherd. I love the “Welcome Home” picture of him hugging a believer entering heaven. But on that day I’ll get to see him for real. As he really is. And nothing could be better.

If life is not treating you fairly, if you’re struggling with your health or emotions, if you wonder why bad things can happen to good people, remember what we already know. We are already God’s children now, but what we will be? That’s still waiting to come. In a very real way, that’s what we’re celebrating on All-Saints Day. Those believers who have gone ahead of us out of this life are experiencing a measure of this already. No, they are not quite fully known yet as they wait for the Last Day when their bodies will join their souls in heaven. But they now see Jesus as he is.

And as we celebrate God’s blessing of heaven to them, we are also celebrating that future blessing to us. God knows us, and has chosen us to be his own in faith. And we know what that means for us. A future where we will be free from our sin. Where we will see Jesus in all his power and glory and love. And we are as excited as John was: “How great the love the Father has lavished on us!”

There is one verse to discuss yet: one thing for us to do while we wait for our future glory. John writes in verse 3, “All who have this hope in him purifies themselves, just as he is pure.” Think of this from the family perspective. Children imitate their parents, whether they realize it or not. They end up talking like them, walking like them, often even pursuing similar interests or careers. Children of God, let this be true of your spiritual family too.

Can people tell who your heavenly Father is by looking at you? Do you look like the other children of God that you see in God’s family? Is your walk of life straight and true? Can people tell from your words and attitude that you have peace with God in your heart? Are your conversations honest? Pure? Kind? Are your desires for heavenly things and not earthly pleasures?

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” Brothers and sisters, remember who you are in Christ, and let that be the person you are in the world. You have everything you need for eternity because God knows you. And you have peace while you wait for that eternity because you know God’s promises. Let your life be pure then as you live as the child of God you are. Seek the spiritual blessings you heard in our Gospel reading. Look forward to the heaven you saw in our Revelation reading. And whatever happens, trust that God knows. And we know. Amen.