How to Become Part of the Family of God.
Good Morning Friends,
Friends, I hope you come to know that you are a beloved child of God. That God loves you and is not going to give up on you. That God longs to hold you up to His cheek in a loving embrace. That He is not going to destroy you or abandon you. That you have been adopted by the God of Israel. That He is calling you out of Egypt, out of your sin so He can teach you to know His ways even as he helps you follow in the footsteps of Jesus as you learn How to Become Part of the Family of God.
Scripture: See what love the Father has given 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. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
1 John 3:1-2 (NRSV)
As indeed he says in Hosea, ‘Those who were not my people I will call “my people”, and her who was not beloved I will call “beloved”. ‘ ‘And in the very place where it was said to them, “You are not my people”, there they shall be called children of the living God.
Romans 9:25-26 (NRSV)
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
Galatians 4:4-7 (NRSV)
28Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your produce for that year, and store it within your towns; 29the Levites, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you, as well as the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work that you undertake.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29 (NRSV)
Message: Today’s devotional I hope weaves together the images of our physical body; connected to our blood relatives and the blood of Christ shed for our sins… drinking deep the distinguishing marks of a Christian… the Spirit of love. I hope it connects the members of our family of faith to function in the unity of the Church; joined through Baptism and bound by a bond of bread… we eat the broken body of Jesus… the life of unconditional love. And as we mature in our faith and the mystery of it all, I hope it connects our experience of God’s love to our extended family tree, so that we might bear spiritual fruits. Friends, the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. This familial term indicates that God regards Jesus as a family member. Believers born anew are members of this family too. But how do we become a part of this family of God is a bit of a mystery. Maybe it is when we hear the gospel, confess our sins, and place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, maybe at that moment we are born into God’s kingdom as His children and become heirs with Him for eternity. But I believe it is also intertwined with our actions of extending the community of believers and committing to a reality that God cares less about whose DNA has recombined to form ours as much as whose love is shared and recombined to form us spiritually. Friends, when everything goes poorly, the people who stand by you without flinching–they are your family. They can be our physical brothers and sisters but might also be our spiritual brothers and sisters. This inclusive attitude of worship…this necessity of purpose is becoming of a child of God. For every Child of God wants to know the security of being close to their parents…the familiarity of their faces around a meal, the security of their strength, and the assurance of their words…the impact of worship on the world. Friends, part of our purpose is to extend this love to the sons and daughters who live beyond the genealogical gate on the outskirts of community. Jesus did.
Pray we inherit the kingdom of God. Pray we are driven us to our knees in humble adoration of a God who shares with us the blessing of be being part of the family of God. Pray our inheritance includes the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at the very moment we believe in Christ. Pray we know the Jesus of joy. Pray we share this joy…this love as a distinguishing mark of being a child of God. Pray that we love as we have been loved. Pray that we imitate Christ…as a child of God.
Pray we experience the grace of communion, the grace of God’s love, the love of growing in His family. Pray we remember and believe in His ultimate love and let it produce in use the attitudes, actions and attractions that only love can. Pray for orphans that they might find peace in the family of God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 