Adoption

"...and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”  (2 Corinthians 6:18 ESV)


I wonder how often we think about the fact that we have been adopted into the family of God?  Had it not been for God's mercy, we would still be outsiders, unable to know the intimacy with our Father and the kinship of fellow believers in the household of God.  


I was blessed to be adopted as an infant and brought into a family that loved me and cared for me.  From my earliest childhood I can remember my parents reading a book to me about what adoption meant - that I was chosen and special. I was wanted.  Hearing that story read, I remember having this image of my parents wandering around a big room full of babies looking for just the right one.  I'm so thankful that they conveyed that message to me - the "specialness" of being adopted; it has made it so much easier, so natural, to understand and appreciate what God has done for us.


As an adopted daughter, the mother and father that raised me were my parents - as real as any parents to any child I knew.  I had all the benefits and experiences of being a "real" member of my family --- it was (and is), indeed MY family.  I wasn't a second-class, settled-for, wish-it-could-have-been-different daughter; I was their child and they were Mama and Daddy.  


That's what God has done for us - he has made us his real sons and daughters and he is our real Father.  We are chosen, wanted, sought after, and cared for.  We bear the family name and the family resemblance.  And a word about that resemblance:  just as in my family, we may not physically resemble each other (although some say we do), we've developed familial similarities in personality and preferences, ways of doing things and interacting with each other that are unique to my family.  As members of God's family, we experience the same thing.  As we live, mature and grow as fellow members of the household of God, lovingly molded and transformed by the Spirit into the image of Christ, we take on family traits otherwise known as fruits of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  We know and have access to our Father at all times, in all circumstances.  We are loved beyond measure, cared for beyond our wildest imaginings, and provided for eternally.  


Take some time to read again the beautiful, beautiful prayer that Jesus prays for his disciples and for us in John 17.  It is an incredible blessing.  To read these words is to know his heart - and the heart of our Father - for us, his children.  It's our heritage - our inheritance.  


"What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are."  1 John 3:1 (The Message)

Be Still

Be still and know that I am God.  (Psalm 46:10)


Psalm 46 is only 11 verses long.  Most of those verses deal with the power of God in the form of earthquakes, destruction, desolation, his power over wars and the futility of man's weapons in the face of God's power.  If you imagine hearing those verses read aloud, they would probably be read with volume, with emphasis and forcefulness.  Then, in the midst of all that, is silence: "be still and know that i am God."  In the Amplified Bible, instead of "be still", we read "cease striving".  That's the heart of it.  In the midst of chaos, destruction, fear, our own ineptitude in the face of such power, we are to cease striving.  When you get right down to it, what else can we do in the face of the power of Almighty God?  


Not long ago, I sat through a long, drawn-out afternoon as a slow-moving hurricane passed through.  The wind was so strong and I watched the trees bending and the debris fly around and wondered when something was going to crash into the house.  No power, no phones, no cell signal.  And I was by myself.  This was not a huge, deadly hurricane or a tsunami or an earthquake.  But in the face of the force of nature - however forceful nature chooses to be - we are helpless.  Our arrogant notions of being in control fly out the window.  As I watched and waited out this storm, I couldn't help but think how awesome is the power of God!  Nature is the creature; God is the creator.  Even at its most powerful, the power of nature is only a weakened reflection of the power of its creator.  What else can we do in the presence of such an awesome God but stop our strivings - be still.  


The power and holiness of God aren't just displayed in catastrophic circumstances. God's power and holiness are most vividly displayed through his love - in the face and person of Jesus.  Jesus came so that we could know the Father - know his love, his grace and forgiveness, his healing power and power to restore what is broken in the world.  In the face of the hard questions - loneliness, loss, grief, illness - Jesus tells us that he will never leave us or forsake us.  God is holy, God is sovereign, God is in control. When we feel so utterly helpless and useless, God IS:  he is present, he is love, he is good.  Be still and know that he is God.  Cease striving, cease trying to "fix" what is too big to fix - what was never ours to fix in the first place.  


The last verse of Psalm 46 is this:  "The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."  In the midst of all this world can throw at us, the Lord of the universe is with us, he is our fortress, our comfort, our strength.  Be still and know that I am God.

Persuasion

Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. (2 Corinthians 5:11 NLT)

I wonder how many of us are of the same sentiment.  Working hard to persuade others doesn't mean harassment, certainly, but it does mean that how we live out our witness to others should be high on our priority list. A lifestyle of faith is a response; any lifestyle is a response to the priorities in our lives.  Where do I spend my time, my money, my energies?  What is the driving force behind every decision I make?  Those are the things that direct my steps, my relationships.  Paul knew the fearful responsibility to the Lord because of the transforming power of the love of Jesus - the transformation from Saul to Paul:  from a zealous pursuit and persecution of Christians to a zealous pursuit of the Lord's mission to bring others to Christ.  Nothing but the power of Love in the person of Jesus could accomplish such a change - such a complete turn-around and change of heart.  

When we recognize "from whence we've come" and see how the healing, transforming love of Jesus has re-made our hearts and our priorities, it gives us the motivation to share our story with others.  We don't have to accost people on the street with our message - just live it.  God can use everything in life - experiences, trials, blessings, hardships - as a way to minister to those he sends our way. We are obviously not all called to be another Paul but we are called and empowered to be who the Lord has gifted, created, and equipped us to be right where we live, work, and interact with people.  The work is God's:  in us and through us.  We get the privilege of cooperating with the Lord in his work.  

How we see ourselves is so very different from how God sees us.  He sees the child he's created for his good will and purposes, the child he loves and calls by name, the child that is a gift to this world.  He's in the process of calling that beautiful creation out in each of us - growing, transforming, healing, loving each of us - shaping us into the man or woman he's created us to be.   Pray for God to reveal himself to you in a new way; pray for him to give you a new understanding into who he is.  I know that's a prayer he loves to answer!  As you grow in your knowledge of who God is, your understanding is deepened and your life will be a reflection - a light - that draws people in and invites them to come to know the One who is the Light of your life.