AUGUST 6, 2015
Family
Privilege
As
many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.— John 1:12
Read:
John
1:6-14
When I was in primary school in Ghana, I had
to live with a loving and caring family away from my parents. One day, all the children
assembled for a special family meeting. The first part involved all of us
sharing individual experiences. But next, when only “blood children” were
required to be present, I was politely excluded. Then the stark reality hit me:
I was not a “child of the house.” Despite their love for me, the family
required that I should be excused because I was only living with them; I was
not a legal part of their family.
This incident reminds me of John 1:11-12. The Son of God came to His own
people and they rejected Him. Those who received Him then, and receive Him now,
are given the right to become God’s children. When we are adopted into His
family, “the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children
of God” (Rom. 8:16).
Jesus doesn't exclude anyone who is adopted by
the Father.
Jesus doesn't exclude anybody who is adopted by the Father. Rather, He
welcomes us as a permanent part of His family. “As many as received Him, to
them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His
name” (John 1:12).
Thank You, Father, for making it possible for
me to be Your child. I’m grateful to be Yours and not to have to worry about
whether You will remove me from Your family. I am Yours and You are mine.
Assurance of salvation is not in what you know but who you
know.
INSIGHT:
The gospel of John was written to testify
that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). From the onset, John
presents Jesus as the Logos, the self-existent, pre-existent, omnipotent,
eternal, creator God who spoke everything into existence (1:1-5). John also
presents Jesus as God Incarnate—God in the flesh (vv. 9-14). The eternal God
entered the world He created and became human like us in order to live with us
(vv.11,14; Matt. 1:23). The New Testament also affirms Christ’s humanity (Gal.
4:4; 1 Tim. 3:16, Heb. 2:14-17). Sim Kay Tee
Source: Our Daily Bread 2015
