God’s Child

Scripture:

Gal. 3:26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.
Gal. 3:27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Gal. 3:28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
Gal. 3:29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Observation:

Faith in Jesus Christ has changed everything for God’s people and being baptized into Christ we are now children of God.  We have the privilege of being God’s holy children here on this earth because we have been adopted into the family.  Not just are we adopted but we are now grown-up mature members of the family who are now reflecting the image of the Father whom we are facing.  Why?  Because we belong to him and to no one else!

Application:

I’m not sure that we can ever fully grasp the implications of this scripture.  All of the human barriers that divide us — our race, nationality, position and gender — they have been destroyed by the power of Jesus Christ in our lives.  Really — they have been obliterated because in God’s family we are all now his children and this supersedes anything earthly.  Jesus came here to earth and became human so that we could become like him.  His very life is transformative for you and for me and he has carved out a pathway for us to enter into his family. 

We simply enter into this family relationship by faith but then, once in the family, we act like a member of the family!  If you would meet my children you would figure out quite soon that they belong to Chuck and to me.  They have physical characteristics like us, yes, but it’s much more than that.  They tend to talk like us, and think like us, and make decisions like we do.  They like to celebrate special occasions the way we always have in the family.  Certain events and activities are special to them because that’s what we do in this family.  It is quite obvious that they are a part of this family.

When we put on Christ and become a member of the family there is a real change that occurs in us, and it is a transformation that continues throughout our entire lifetime!  As a member of the family we hang out with the family!  We spend time with our Father.  We spend time with our big brother.  We eat the food provided for us by the family and we are strengthened and nurtured by all that we receive from the family.

Little by little we look more and more like the family and that means the earthly characteristics that may have defined us begin to fade away.  Instead the family nature of love overflows from who we are and the barriers are all gone. 

Are these the characteristics of our lives?  If not, then we must wonder whether we are really living with our new family, or are we simply trying to drop in for a visit now and then and pretend that this is our family.  That’s not good enough. 

I’m grateful for the privilege to be God’s child.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for being our Abba — Daddy.  Amen.