APRIL 16, 2014
Joining
The Family
Read: Galatians
3:26–4:7
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. —Galatians 3:26
Maurice Griffin was
adopted when he was 32 years old. He had lived with Lisa and Charles Godbold 20
years earlier as a foster child. Although Maurice was now a man living on his
own, adoption had been what the family and he had always longed for. Once they
were reunited and the adoption was official, Maurice commented, “This is
probably the happiest moment in my life. . . . I’m happy to be home.”
Those of us who have
joined the family of God may refer to that time as the happiest moment in our
lives. When we trust Christ for salvation, we become God’s children, and He
becomes our heavenly Father. The Bible assures us, “You are all sons of God
through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26).
As God’s adopted
children, we acquire spiritual siblings—our brothers and sisters in Christ—and
we all share an eternal inheritance (Col. 1:12). In addition, Jesus’ Spirit
indwells our hearts and enables us to pray using the name Abba, Father (Gal.
4:6)—like a child calling, “Daddy.”
To be a child of God
is to experience the closeness and security of a Father who loves us, accepts
us, and wants to know us. Our adoption into His family is a wonderful
homecoming.
I once was an outcast
stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice,
and an alien by birth;
But I’ve been adopted,
my name’s written down,
An heir to the
mansion, a robe, and a crown. —Buell
God’s arms are always
open to welcome anyone home.
Insight
Paul’s use of the
metaphor of adoption is significant. A child who is orphaned and abandoned is
likely to die. But through adoption a child is accepted and made part of the
family, with full status and rights. That child is given a new life. This is
God’s action toward us. When God redeems us, He accepts us into His family as
sons and daughters.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
