“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God—children born not of natural descent … but born of God.”
John 1:12-13
The idea that we are all children of God is not the Bible’s teaching. To be sure, we are all descendants of God, in that God created mankind. But that doesn’t mean we are all God’s children.
My father left my mother before I was born. Part of who I am today comes from him, but he has not been my dad. Sound familiar? If you’re reading this from a prison cell, perhaps you have a child on the outside whom you’re a father to, but not a real dad. Or maybe your dad was never there for you. If so, you understand when I say that it takes more than genetic descent to be counted a member of the family.
In the story of salvation, we are the ones who abandoned our Father. We chose sin over God and rebellion over love. We embraced the world and turned our face from Him. Like the prodigal son in Luke 11, we chose to leave our family and become orphans in darkness. But the good news of Jesus Christ is that the Father stands ready to receive us back in.
My father left my mother before I was born. Part of who I am today comes from him, but he has not been my dad. Sound familiar? If you’re reading this from a prison cell, perhaps you have a child on the outside whom you’re a father to, but not a real dad. Or maybe your dad was never there for you. If so, you understand when I say that it takes more than genetic descent to be counted a member of the family.
In the story of salvation, we are the ones who abandoned our Father. We chose sin over God and rebellion over love. We embraced the world and turned our face from Him. Like the prodigal son in Luke 11, we chose to leave our family and become orphans in darkness. But the good news of Jesus Christ is that the Father stands ready to receive us back in.
Scripture Focus
Matthew 6:9-13
Insight
Even if you’ve never had an earthly father, your heavenly Father is ready to embrace you, kiss you, and receive you into His love forever.
Bible In A Year
- Exodus 25-26
- Psalm 38
- Luke 2
