Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – February 3, 2020
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 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 1:4-5, NLT
Adoption has its challenges. The background and genetics of the precious one being brought into a new family may clash with the new culture, even a home full of love and acceptance. The compassionate parents pray for their precious child to come to know, love and follow Jesus. Adoption can be a rough road, but love has a way of bringing everyone back to a focus of faith in God. Trust in the love and good will of God is how parents hope their adopted child will see them. Like the Lord, it brings a parent great pleasure to see her son or daughter accept her love.
Once you believe in Jesus your last name changes from being a child of the devil to being a child of God. Wow! What a transition. From being used to being fully loved. From lonely to never being alone. From deceived by lies to set free by truth. From hell to heaven. From chaos to peace. From rejected to accepted. From despair to hope. When you are adopted by God, you have a divine origin with a divine likeness, who is the object of divine love. Christ loves and cares for you! It gives Him great pleasure to pronounce you His own, and to provide for you. He wants you, for you.
“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God” (John 1:12-13, NLT).
Struggle with identity plagues the most mature followers of Jesus. It is a grim alternative for us to settle for Satan’s deceptive delicacies, to go back to the pigpen of wallowing in sin. But like the prodigal (who was a son), we finally come to our senses and head home to our loving heavenly Father. We are adopted and accepted—as the beloved, by the Beloved. Our family of faith is the Lord’s gift to love, support and accept us, as we grow in grace and love. Our identity is in Christ, not in our latest achievement or failure. Not in our net worth, but in our true riches of love in the Lord and His family. Enjoy who you are, because of whose you are—a child of God!
Because I value the approval of others, I have to be careful not to depend on another’s acceptance for my validation of self-worth. I am already accepted in the Beloved, so I can rest in Him and not strive for Him or anxiously seek to please someone else. My story prior to Christ is not for me to be embarrassed about (it’s still very much a part of my story), but to be grateful for. It is how God adopted me into His family and to teach me to love and serve my earthly family. So, let’s celebrate our spiritual adoption: where we have been, where we are and where the Spirit is taking us to become more like our Savior Jesus Christ. We are adopted, accepted, loved and not alone!
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:14-15).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I praise you for adopting me into your family of faith, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
How can I better recognize and celebrate my identity and acceptance in Christ?
Related Reading
Hosea 1:10; Malachi 3:17; Matthew 5:9; Galatians 3:26, 4:5
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When you are adopted by God, you have a divine origin, with a divine likeness, who is the object of divine love. #WisdomHunters #truth #adopted #Jesus
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