Our Identity in Christ [Children of God]…

January 30, 2007 | 2:35 AM

“…if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15, ESV)

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God…” (Ephesians 2:19, ESV)

Twice the Apostle Paul makes note of believers as part of the household of God. The emphasis here is that we are, as a whole, a family with God as the Father. As with all families, we won’t always get along, but the emphasis is that we should have a strong familial bond that brings us together. The problem is that not every Earthly family is that great. (No kidding, they’re really not. Who knew?) So we have bad examples set before us and then we act like those. So we try not to look to ourselves as the prime example of a good family. We look to God. We look to the relationship Jesus had with the Father.

Go with me for a second. If we’re children of God, then we’re adopted by God. I mean, it’s not like we’re all children of Zeus, born by a mischevious god who fools around with the nearest blonde bimbo. Our parents, however good or bad, are ours. But if we’re children of God, then our Father is our adopted Dad. I can’t speak for everybody, but I don’t think of hateful adoption. I think of loving someone enough to take them as my own, as if there were a biological connection, and spending the rest of my life loving and teaching them everything I can. I think of sharing the world with them. Taking them to places I went as a child. But I’m not a father yet, so I can’t say for sure. It’s just my vision of fatherhood.

I think it’s this loving adoption into the household of God that helps us realize that we’re not alone. And because there are many children of God, it’s our responsibility to watch after each other. This concept seems foreign to a lot of Westerners, I think. In the Ancient Near East (and even really today in many cultures) we saw a strong family structure. Family takes care of family. Really, we see this throughout the Scriptures (and again, even in many cultures today): Abraham and Lot and Noah and his sons are two examples. When it comes down to it, we can have assurance that God is our Father and we are His children. No good Father lets harm come to His children unless it is for their good.

I pray that our Father would give you the assurance of His reality and your adoption into the household of God through the sacrifice of Jesus. May the peace of our Father be with you as you go.

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