Joining the Divine Family

family sunset

As we continue to dig into the truth of our adoption as believers thru faith, that maybe more than anything else, Christianity is summed up in the privilege of calling God our Father, we look today at the reality that our adoption and the change in status and relationship to the Father stands as the basis for our entire life.

Everything about our lives as Christians must be viewed thru the lens of our adoption as God's sons and daughters. This truth of being a child of God must control every area of our lives and inform and guide as well.

Jesus Himself clearly saw believers as becoming part of the same divine family along with even Jesus himself. Look at Mark 3:35 which says "whoever does Gods will is my brother and sister and mother." In Matthew 28:9-10, after the resurrection, Jesus commands that his "brothers" go to Galilee and see him.

In John 20:17-18 Jesus says that He is returning to to "my Father and your Father, to my God and your God", again speaking to believers. Hebrews 2:12-13 uses the same language as well, calling believers Jesus' brothers. Family language is throughout the Bible. We must see ourselves this way for a proper perspective and concept of who we are as believers and what we are called to do.

This truth that we have been adopted must control our lives. Why we said what a believer makes of God being their Father is a big deal and tell on their life. We must grasp this and see everything through this lens.

When we do this, everything begins to make more sense as we have said. Our obedience, our conduct as believers, begins to be seen as sons and daughters taking on the mindset and character traits of their Father. A sharing of our Father's attitudes on things. How our Father views life we begin to view life as well, just like any of our earthly parenting seeks to guide and instill. Family values of sorts. Based upon a shared name and relationship.

Our lives as believers, when rightly viewed through our adoption, begin to be seen as imitations of our Father, just like any child does in a healthy father-child relationship. We are to reflect our Father, His character and nature in all we do, see 1 Peter 1:15. Why are we to be holy? Simply because our Father is holy. We are to glorify our Father  due our shared family name, see Matthew 5:16 and 6:9. We seek to please God as our Father as any child would do, see Matthew 6:1-18. 

Even prayer takes on a different and rightly intimate characteristic when we view it properly through the lens of adoption and God being our Father. When we see prayer as communing and communicating with our Father, freeing us up to be bold and real and vulnerable and free to simply ask, versus prayer being impersonal or mechanical. See Matthew 7 for instance.

May we continue to grow in our understanding of God as our Father and all that this means for us. May we not only glorify Him as our Father, but enjoy Him being our Father. In every aspect of our lives and at every moment.