God as My Dad

Having a son of my own has dramatically changed the way that I read and understand scripture. The fact that we are called children of God is absolutely mind blowing. I love my son in a way that I can't love other people's kids. It is just on a different level. It's not to say that I don't love and want the best for other people's kids, but my kid is different. He is special to me. I would give anything for Him. It is a love that you can't understand until you have kids (I always rolled my eyes when people said that, but I get it now). So for God to call me His child is unbelievable. Especially since He chose me to be His child. I'm not a natural born son of God, I'm adopted. That is even more unbelievable. Even with all of the junk and the baggage that I bring with me, He loves me like a son. 

I know that I'm not a good person by God's standards. I know that nobody is a good person by God's standards because we all have sin in our lives. Knowing that and knowing that God still calls me His child is almost too much to take. Frankly, there are kids I wouldn't want to adopt. If God were like me, this world would be in a lot of trouble! Thankfully, God is nothing like me, He is infinitely better! His love is deeper than I can even fathom. 

Of course God doesn't adopt everyone, this is written to believers. So how do you know if you are a child of God? The Bible covers this topic throughout its pages, but it is summarize like this: A child of God believes, has repented (or turned away from their sin), confessed Jesus as Lord, has been baptized, and is living for Jesus. Check out what John says here:

"Everyone who has been born into God's family avoids sin as a lifestyle because the genes of God's children come from God Himself. Therefore, a child of God can't live a life of persistent sin so it is not hard to figure out who are the children of God and who are the children of the diabolical one: those who lack right standing and those who don't show love for another do not belong to God."

This isn't a 'you slip up once and you're out' kind of thing. God knows that we will all sin, but there is a big difference between sinning and living a lifestyle of sin. Children of God do not lead lifestyles of sin because they have 'God's genes.' Children of God are new creations, they don't live like their dead because they aren't dead anymore! This isn't meant to be a legalistic, it isn't a 'you can't mess up too many times or God won't love you anymore' kind of thing. It is saying that children of God love Him and do their best to do the things that make Him proud. It is like the relationship between a parent and a child. It's almost as if God had that in mind when He planned the family (who would have thought He'd plan things out?)! 

This is a beautiful picture of God's love. A love that I don't deserve. Knowing this makes it even more beautiful. It helps me rest easy knowing I can call the God of the universe Dad.

Enjoy the Journey