Devo 34
1/23/01
"Children of God"
"Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." Galatians 4;7
What a statement! Everyone dreams and jokes about being the heir of a rich uncle--but an heir of God! To be a child of God! THE God! Not the impersonal deities of the Hindus or the Buddhists. But the real, living, personal God who would suffer even death because His love for us humans is so great. But even more astounding to me is the fact that He chose me to be His son; He chose to adopt me into His family. I did nothing to deserve it. I remember the day I realized this...it nearly stopped me in my tracks when I realized that I was to witness all the glories of Heaven and eternal life with God for no other reason than that He loves me.
Read through the Psalms sometime and you'll see over and over how God takes care of those He loves. "...I will deliver him; I will set him on high...I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation." (Psalm 91:14-16) Not only are we blessed with an eternal life in His glory after we die, but He promises to bless our life here on earth--what need will we have of deliverance, or satisfaction when we are in heaven? The promises are tremendous...but why don't I always see them in my life? Why does God sometimes seem distant when I call? Why do I not always feel satisfied with my life?
In the passage from Psalms I quoted above, I left out a couple important parts (remember, this is God speaking here): "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name..."and on as above. In addition, look at John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name..." I think our culture often takes the idea of a 'loving God' too far. " God is seen as a doting parent constantly hovering about His children ready to give them anything they ask for in the blink of an eye. We've probably all known kids who have grown up with this kind of parent. And I'd be willing to bet that not too many of us enjoyed their company! The problem with getting everything we want, when we want by someone in authority over us is that we get an over-inflated view of who we really are? To the spoiled child, he is the most important person in the world.
This is a dangerous attitude when we bring it into our relationship with God. Even the Jews, God's chosen people fell into this trap. Listen to what the 19th century theologian and scholar John Lightfoot had to say about this, "The Jews thought that it was enough for them to have been of the seed of Abraham, or the stock of Israel, to make them fit subjects for the kingdom of heaven, and the happiness that should accrue to them from the days of the Messiah." (Commentary on John 3:3) The Jews saw themselves so highly that they thought that merely being an Israelite was enough to ensure salvation. It is no wonder that God cries out in Psalm 81:13 "Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!"
Yes we are important to God and little can be gained and much lost from a view of ourselves that is too lowly; but remember why God brought us salvation in the first place. "Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, That glory may dwell in our land!" (Psalm 85:9) Whose glory? God's glory! We were created to give God glory; we were created to bear testimony to the surpassing greatness of God. That is what life is about! As the children of God, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, we are in a unique position to do just that! Not only can we praise God with our own lips, we've been called to win others for Christ as well, so that others can praise God and give Him glory.
For the Christian truly set on giving God glory in all things and spreading His word, God will make sure that nothing stands in his way--look at Psalm 91. Of course if you've been saved, you can't be unsaved even if you're not a model Christian--just like a child who runs away from home doesn't stop being his parent's child. But there is so much God wants to do for us and He can't do anything while we are not willing to serve Him. Don't think I'm talking salvation through works here, salvation comes through the grace of God, but blessings come through the obedience of men.
Being a child of God doesn't mean just sitting back and reaping all the benefits while sipping lemonade, it means an identification with who God is and what God is about. I am a child of God, a son by adoption, and it is the greatest gift I could ever imagine. Do I want to abuse that identity by indulging in the freedom for my own pleasure? NO! I want to spend my life telling others that they too can become children of God, that God loves them and they matter to Him. With that devotion to God will come His promises found all throughout the Bible; blessings beyond imagining, not just in heaven, but here on earth.