Discover His heart: He has adopted us as His very own
Back in the ’70’s, America was singing and dancing to “We are family…I got all my sisters with me. We are family…get up ev’ry body and sing.” (Rodgers/Edwards, 1979) Our post Vietnam/Watergate nation was looking for kinship and trust in somebody. With the rise in broken homes and families over the past few decades, we find teenagers in a similar search for family. Symbols and colors have separated youth into alternative families that hold their loyalties and commitment.
Aside from the occasional hermit, most everyone longs to be part of a family, something bigger than themselves, a place of belonging. When God created the family unit back in the Garden, this desire of connection and belonging became a part of us. When Jesus came along to redeem us, He sealed the deal with his blood, and we were adopted into God’s family. We are family!
@ Romans 8
“You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba Father.’ For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” (15-16) Our family has a daddy, and we have inherited His spiritual DNA. Paul really stepped out on a limb when he addressed God in this familiar way because this Aramaic word “Abba” was not used to reference God in Paul’s day. Paul wanted us to understand that the Father is our Father, our loving, approachable dad.
“All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God…And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.” (14,17) We have siblings! And although it may be difficult to understand, we adopted siblings are blood relatives thanks to the sacrifice of our elder brother, Jesus, whose blood covers our sin. “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” (Ephesians 1:5)
As with all families, sometimes we siblings fight and don’t get along, but we would do well to remember of what family we are a part. Our family is to be known to the world by our love for each other (John 13:35), and some of His “house rules,” help us to behave like His family should, “You must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3:12-14) These rules alone should keep us too busy to fuss at each other.
I love our family gatherings, on Sundays or whenever, with the Father and our older brother. We often talk about the great family reunion we all will attend one day. There’s no worry about being left out or being disinherited because, unless we choose to leave it, we are blood relatives forever. This is all because Dad loves us. “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (38-39) We are family – forever!
Moving Forward: I’m thankful today that I’m one of His kids, with no fear of abandonment or rejection, so thrilled to be part of His amazing family.
Tomorrow @ Genesis 12-17
Phyllis Benigas 