05/10
You've Been Adopted
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.
John 1:12
See what great love the Father 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 Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1 John 3:1-2
Both of the passages above have something in common with each other in that they refer to those who believe in Jesus as children of God. This is a key theme we see throughout scripture and it's important for you to understand what this means. It's important because the same is true of you if you have made a decision to make Jesus your Lord and Savior. God's word tells us that at that moment, God has adopted you into his family and you are now Sons and Daughters of the most high king. The problem with many Christians is that even though they believe in Jesus, they either don't believe or cannot comprehend that something so drastic as this has happened within them. So many Christians do not live as if they are sons and daughters of the most high king. How could we wake up and worry about finances when our Father is the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills? How can we suffer through stress and anxiety when we have the ear and attention of our all-powerful father in heaven? How could we struggle with insecurity and timidity if we truly believed that our father was Almighty God? The truth is that a lack of faith, courage, and confidence comes from our inability to fully accept spiritual truth. If we truly lived as though we are children of God, there is no reason why we wouldn't walk full of faith, with our heads held high, with bold prayers and expectations of the supernatural and seeing the miraculous on a daily basis.
This slow realization is the real idea and driving force behind sanctification. As we grow in spiritual maturity, we are not only becoming more like Christ, but we are more fully believing the reality of the status we already hold, as sons and daughters of God. A major component of spiritual growth and maturity is simply accepting and walking in what is already a reality. Think about this in your own life. Are you a child of God? Do you live like a child of God? In what ways do you almost live in a state of suspended disbelief not stepping fully into your royal identity? What can you do today to take a next step and walk out your true identity instead of a partial version of it?
John 1:12
See what great love the Father 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 Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1 John 3:1-2
Both of the passages above have something in common with each other in that they refer to those who believe in Jesus as children of God. This is a key theme we see throughout scripture and it's important for you to understand what this means. It's important because the same is true of you if you have made a decision to make Jesus your Lord and Savior. God's word tells us that at that moment, God has adopted you into his family and you are now Sons and Daughters of the most high king. The problem with many Christians is that even though they believe in Jesus, they either don't believe or cannot comprehend that something so drastic as this has happened within them. So many Christians do not live as if they are sons and daughters of the most high king. How could we wake up and worry about finances when our Father is the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills? How can we suffer through stress and anxiety when we have the ear and attention of our all-powerful father in heaven? How could we struggle with insecurity and timidity if we truly believed that our father was Almighty God? The truth is that a lack of faith, courage, and confidence comes from our inability to fully accept spiritual truth. If we truly lived as though we are children of God, there is no reason why we wouldn't walk full of faith, with our heads held high, with bold prayers and expectations of the supernatural and seeing the miraculous on a daily basis.
This slow realization is the real idea and driving force behind sanctification. As we grow in spiritual maturity, we are not only becoming more like Christ, but we are more fully believing the reality of the status we already hold, as sons and daughters of God. A major component of spiritual growth and maturity is simply accepting and walking in what is already a reality. Think about this in your own life. Are you a child of God? Do you live like a child of God? In what ways do you almost live in a state of suspended disbelief not stepping fully into your royal identity? What can you do today to take a next step and walk out your true identity instead of a partial version of it?
TODAY'S CHALLENGE
Take some time over the next few days to really think about these questions and what God is stirring up within you.