SONSHIP What does belonging to the family of God mean to you? As God's sons and daughters, we have the family name. We are to show the family likeness and we are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. We will also ultimately share in the family inheritance. Isn't that wonderful? And John says we are children of God! Many people believe that 'Everybody everywhere is a child of God'. They speak about the 'fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of God'. How do you answer that? Before we came to Christ, we were only children of God in the sense that He created us. Adam was truly God's son before he sinned but the Fall produced a tragic change in the relationship. Christ said to the hypocritical Pharisees of His day, 'You belong to your father, the devil and you want to carry out your father's desires.' (John 8:44) If you stop and think of what God has done in making you His child, you have to acknowledge how INCREDIBLE His love really is. What would you do if your employee robbed you and ran away? What would you do if he came back and said he wanted to work for you again? Would you re-employ him? Could you forgive him if someone else paid his debt to you? Would you go further and adopt him as your son? It's a poor analogy, but God has done all that and more for us. Remember He sent His only Son to pay our debt so that He, God the Father, could make us His children. (John 1:12) He also goes beyond even that and gives us all the privileges of full sonship. The Amplified Version of I John 3:1 puts it so well: 'See what an incredible quality of love the Father has given or shown so that we should be permitted to be named, called and counted the children of God.' A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: 'Father, let me show our family likeness today in all that I do or say.' |
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