Ever since I can remember, the first thing I say to our granddaughter when I see her is, “Hello, child of God.” I have always wanted to convey that she is loved, chosen, accepted, celebrated, and cherished. Today, she shares those same sentiments with others, and when she writes birthday cards to her friends, the cards read, “Happy happy birthday, happy happy day, you’re God’s child, every every day!”
Just recently, our granddaughter and I were conversing, and she said, “Mimi, I feel like we are one big family as Christians.” I explained to her that, as Christians, we are adopted into a family, and the early church modeled what it was like to be a family. The biblical world was communal in its orientation, and so much of our Christian faith is learning to become part of the Christian family.
There is great joy and responsibility in being children of God. To realize joy in our lives, we must be responsible in our relationships with God, our church, the community, our families, and others. Only God can help us live a life of obedience and righteousness. He is a loving and faithful father, and it falls on us to be trusting children as we entirely depend upon him and bear fruit for the kingdom of God.
We benefit from the promised blessings and joy of being God’s children. Timothy Keller once said, “If you are a child of God, you don’t lose your status if you have a bad week.” We experience security, authority, intimacy, inheritance, and forgiveness. When we accept Christ, we are born into a new family, new identity, and new hope. And we have brothers and sisters in Christ whom we can pray and serve alongside for the glory of God and to live as Christ on the earth. Our inheritance as children of God can never perish or fade away. (I Peter 1:3-4)
Lord of Life, thank you that you chose me as a child of God. Help me to understand what it means to live in the family of God by the power of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Throughout this day, listen to Hillsong Worship: Who You Say I AM
“I am a child of God. Yes, I am! I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am.”