See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
"See what kind of love" — John doesn't just tell you the fact, he tells you to look at it. Stop, actually look, because this kind of love is not the ordinary kind. Being called a child of God isn't a title handed out for good behavior. It's a relationship offered before it was earned.
Most of us carry some quiet math about how much we'd have to fix before we could belong anywhere that mattered. Behave better, believe more confidently, get less complicated. This verse skips that math entirely. It says the calling already happened — and so we are, present tense, not someday.
You don't need to feel like you belong yet for this to be true. You're allowed to just look at the claim honestly, the way John asks, and see what you make of it.
If you've never let yourself actually look at that claim instead of dismissing it, today might be a good day to.
A short video on this is coming soon — for now, read on.