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You've probably heard Christians referred to as Children of God. Well, I think that's one of the neatest things about being a Christian. I am an adopted son of God. It's not because of anything good I ever did. It's because God loved me and offered me the opportunity to become His child, just as he offers you.
Now I should provide some basis for calling myself and other Christians "children of God." Romans 8:14-16 says, "Because those who live by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. And by him we cry, 'Abba(basically "dad"), Father.' The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that se are God's Children."
Now, to give you some background on the subject, you'll need to know just what the word "adoption" meant to those who originally read these words in the Bible. In Jewish law, if someone had a child of their own who was simply uncontrollable and showed absolutely no respect for the parents, they could disown the child. But if someone adopted a child, they could never change their mind and disown the child. I guess this was because they specifically chose that child, but that's not really the issue here. To illustrate what it meant to be a Christian, the writer used the word "adoption." I don't know about you, but that just sounds really cool to me. God, the one who knows us inside and out, chose to make us his children. God, the one who knows our darkest, most vile secrets, still loves us and wants us to be part of Him. That's just incredible.
I came across a really cool explanation of what it means to be someone's child. If you are someone's child, you bear their name. I bear my parents' name, Newberry. If you bear your parents' name, you are seen in the light of who your parents are. Everything they are is ascribed to you. You are part of them, and they are part of you. If the world sees your parents as good people, they will see you in the same light because you bear their name. The same goes for those of us who have taken God's name upon us. We are made part of our Father, and we could not imagine life without Him.
The Bible verses I mentioned earlier in this article go on to say more about what it means to be a child of God. "Now, if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:17-18) If you didn't catch it, the point of that passage was that if we are God's children, then we have been promised an inheritance from God--that is sharing in all the glory and blessings of Jesus Christ Himself. Wow!! "How great is the love the Gather has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!! And that is what we are!! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 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 will see Him as He is." (I John 3:10-13)
Now keep in mind that this is talking to Christians. Make no mistake, those with no faith in Jesus Christ have no part in the promises and in being God's children. But if you are not a Christian, you are always invited to come and be a part of all this.
In the book of John, it mentions this invitation. "He (Christ) was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." (John 1:10-13)
In the first Bible passage I quoted, it says that those who live by the Spirit of God are adopted to be His children. Well, I would really like to see each and every one of you who read this to fit that description. God has offered you the opportunity to become His child and share in all the things He has. He even provided the way. He sent His only natural son into the world to defeat the power of sin and death so that every one of us could have life as God experiences it, and He promised that if we would put our faith in Jesus, we would receive His Spirit. If we have received His Spirit then we have been joined with Him. He is part of us and we are part of Him. We are His children.
Consider the great opportunity you have to be a child of such a great Dad. Consider the love He has shown to you. I hope that you will put your faith in my precious Lord Jesus Christ. I would love to share in all the blessings of God and see you sharing it as well.