Adopted
So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son, then you are also an heir through God. (Galatians 4:7)
As a young boy, I refused to clean up my mess, and was introduced to the business end of Dad’s belt. When I was a bit older, I spread the news that Dad and Big Sis were the culprits of a long secreted house toilet papering caper. There was plenty of strife in our home on that day. And as a rebellious teenager, I spent a night in jail. Dad was not happy.
Now my father is aging into a sweet, easy disposition. We made it through every threat to our relationship, and we’re still friends, because never once did either of us say we wanted out of the family union.
When I accepted the sacrifice of Jesus as my own, God adopted me as his son. We now have a family bond that compels us to stand by one another, no matter what happens.
One purpose of families is to provide a safe environment where we learn to work out our differences. A certain amount of tension means I’m part of a functioning family, and not orphaned. We offend each other, fight, then forgive. That’s what families do.
Angst comes between God and me when I sin. It’s a natural tension that arises when a sinner tries to share the temple of his body with a holy God. These tensions don’t make me lose my adoption into heaven. On the contrary, they mean I’m still part of God’s family, and not orphaned. I eventually repent, we move on, and hopefully I grow.
Silence is more worrisome than confrontation. The absence of correction from the Holy Spirit is the most perilous. If he no longer convicts my conscience, or spikes my joy, it might be because I’ve walked away. Abandonment of one’s place in God’s family is a crime of epic foolishness.
I’m often disloyal to God, but I’ve never been daft enough to say, nor will I ever say by word or lifestyle, “You’re no longer my Father.”
Likewise, as long as I cling to Jesus, God is happy to call me his son. Nothing in heaven, on earth, or in hell can reverse my adoption. I’m the only one with the authority to defect by an exercise of free will, and I have no intention of giving up my adopted birthright.
Prayer: Heavenly Parent, I repent of ever doubting my adoption.
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