For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us 

as he whispers into our innermost being, 

“You are God’s beloved child!”
Romans 8:16 TPT

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Wow...does that not take your breath away... You are a child of God. Not a child by birth, but a child by adoption.  A child chosen by the Lord God Almighty.  In the natural world, when a child is adopted, it means that someone has made a choice to embrace that child and give them a better life. That is what God has done for you.  He has embraced you, chosen you and given you a better life in His family, filled with His love and security.

Adoption is not by chance, it is planned for.  God has similarly planned to have you in His family since the creation of the world.  “For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace—for the same love he has for his Beloved One, Jesus, he has for us. And this unfolding plan brings him great pleasure!” (Ephesians 1:5-6 TPT). God has planned for you, planned to adopt you into His family and look after you for life, it is not because of anything you have or will do, it is because of His love for you, and it brings Him GREAT pleasure.

Being a child of God, also means you are an heir... “And since we are His true children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are HEIRS of God himself” (Romans 8:17 TPT). An heir inherits all that the family possesses, you are heirs to God’s heavenly kingdom and home, you are heirs to all that is Jesus’s: heirs to His authority, heirs to His victory, heirs to His treasures. But how do we know that we are children of God? 1 John 5:1 says that “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God.” So, if you are a Christian then you are a child of God, that is the simple fact. 

An Invitation

If we are God’s children, then God is our Father.  For some of you, that may not bring happy memories.  But God is not our earthly Father, He is our Heavenly Father who has chosen to adopt us out of His great love.  I would like to invite you to read and reflect on a parable that Jesus told to illustrate our Heavenly Father.  It can be found in Luke 15 verses 11-32.

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If you do not have a bible, click on the link below which will take you to a free online bible:
https://www.biblegateway.com/

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