John 1:12-13New International Version (NIV)
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children
born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but
born of God.
We live in a time and culture of rights. "It's my right
to ___." Just fill in the blank. But we don't have a right to be God's
child. We are given that right by God's grace. This right came to us at great
cost to God. Jesus' came to earth, lived, died and was raised from the dead. We
receive this grace through faith: God gives us new birth as we trust in Jesus
as Lord and we are baptized and reborn through the power of the Holy Spirit (John
3:3-7; Titus 3:3-7). To be born of God, to be born from above, to be born
"again" is the gift of adoption into God's family and brings us all
the rights of heirs in God's house (Galatians 3:26-29; Galatians 4:1-7).
So let's not take this grace, this blessing, this adoption, this right for
granted! We are God's children right now (1 John 3:1-3). Let's give thanks for
this grace and live like we belong.
Thought for today:
Do I honor my “adoption”?
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