23. Adoption

This restored relationship, however, is much more than that of  Creator and those He created. It’s about family. He has adopted us to Himself as sons and daughters.

Ephesians 1:5 (ESV) he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,  

In our last reading, we discovered the purpose of salvation is not just about an entrance into heaven, but about the restoration of our relationship with the  Father. This restored relationship, however, is much more than that of Creator and those He created. It’s about family. He has adopted us to Himself as sons and daughters. 

There is no closer tie than family membership. A common phrase that sums up this truth says, “Blood is thicker than water.” Of all the relationships in the world, that of a family is the most important and strongest of all.  

For most of my working life, I have worked as a member of the staff of a large church in South Australia, and for many of these years, our senior pastor was  Ps Andrew Evans. Under his leadership, our church grew to be the largest Pentecostal congregation in our nation at the time, and as the State and  National President, our movement also experienced phenomenal growth.  I became a Christian through his preaching, and five years later, I joined the staff as an assistant youth pastor. He was an incredible leader who loved me and cared for me as he did all the members of our team. It was a tremendous privilege to work for him.  

As wonderful and inspiring as it was to serve him, I never felt the liberty to enter his house without knocking, walk into the kitchen, take food from the fridge and turn on the television. I knew this was not appropriate. But for his two sons, this was a daily occurrence. Even though I was loved, I was still,  rightfully so, an employee. But for them, he was not only the senior pastor, he was also their dad. There is a difference between working for someone and being a member of the household. 

Likewise, in providing our salvation, the Father has not only dealt with our sin.  He has also made us members of His family. He has adopted us to Himself so that now we are His sons and daughters. 

We need to understand that when God describes us as members of His household, this is not just an analogy to express His love for us. Somehow, we really are His children.  

How can we, beings that God has created, become members of His household?  He is the eternal, all-powerful God who has always existed and is the Creator of all things. He is far above anything we could dream of or imagine, and, although He made us in His image, He is radically and infinitely different to us.  

At the risk of trivialising this fundamental difference between God and ourselves, we could say that He is as distinct from us as we would be to a beloved pet. We may love and care for our pet and even treat them as a family member.  But in reality, they are of a different kind to us and could never really be a member of the family like a true son or daughter. We cannot adopt a pet.  

Yet amazingly, God declares that in saving us, He has also made us members of His family. 

We will continue to explore this truth in the next few readings. But for now, spend a few minutes thinking about the privileges of being a family member and thank the Father that He has adopted you into His. 

Further reading: Jn 1:12-13; Rom 8:15-16; Gal 3:26, 4:4-7

As a Christian, you are now, in reality, a son or daughter of your Heavenly Father.
Spend a moment reflecting on this amazing truth.

This is an extract from my free book Knowing God as Father, which is available for download at Knowing God as Father.