Children of God? Are we really? That’s a big claim to make. And to many people in the world today, that claim probably sounds a bit pompous, outrageous, ridiculous, fanatic, and just downright crazy. But if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, you are a child of God.

Here’s what Scriptures say:

Wait. First let’s talk about the dangers of growing up in a church. I know, I know–there are all kinds of reasons to be thankful for a heritage that placed you in a family and church from the time you were born. But there are also some disadvantages, and one of them is this — you might no longer “hear” Scripture.

Those of us who have heard familiar Scriptures since we were children sometimes no longer have the ears to hear. We hear or read familiar words, and we let them run over us like water flowing over stones in a creek bed, never soaking in, penetrating, permeating, changing.

So my challenge to you is this: let the Scriptures soak in and change you. Hear the words God has for his children.

(And now back to your regularly scheduled blog…)

Here’s the story:

He came into the world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.
He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.
But to all who believed him and accepted him,
he gave the right to become children of God
They are reborn–
not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan,
but a birth that comes from God.

Long ago, God chose a people that He named and cared for as His children. They were to receive His blessings and protection, all the benefits of His power. Their story is the story of the Old Testament. But the story is a sad one, a history of generations of rebellious children, children who too often did not understand what their father offered, children who turned their backs on God.

And so there’s a twist in the story. God himself comes into human history, in the form of Jesus Christ, to bring His children back to Him. Even then, in human form before our very eyes, flesh and blood just like us, living in our history–even then, He is not recognized by most.

But those who do recognize, those who do believe–those are the privileged who now become His sons and daughters. The inheritance now has nothing to do with race or lineage, forefathers or tradition; now the ones who believe are the ones God takes as His chosen children, set apart, marked and touched specially by Him.

Did you notice that we are reborn? It’s a new life! A birth that comes from God, a new standing. We become children of God when we believe in Jesus Christ.

And you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

Keep this verse in mind when you read Scripture about “Israel” or “children of Abraham”. If you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. Your faith in Christ Jesus has made you heirs to all the promises God has made to his children.

This inheritance is now yours.

And don’t you want to know what that inheritance is?

Scriptures: John 1:10-13, Gal 3:26,29