See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. – 1 John 3:1
Before I continue in 1st John, I want to talk a little bit about adoption. As I said in my last post, my wife and I have two beautiful children. Caleb is 3 and Abigail is 15 months old. Both of our children our adopted. We adopted Caleb in 2009 and Abigail in 2011. In the adoption world, the first day you see your child and get to take them home is called their “gotcha day.” I vividly remember every detail about both of our kids gotcha days. I was excited because both days were watershed moments in our lives. Everything from this point on was going to be different. I was also in awe of the courage that their birth mother’s had to do what was best for their child. It was not easy, and we prayed and cried with each birth mom on those days. The price they paid was great.
This week as we sit between Palm Sunday and Easter another adoption is weighing heavy on my heart, my adoption. As a believer in Christ I am now a child of God. The price that God paid for my adoption is extremely great. Isaiah wrote in 53:5 “ But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” In order for me to be adopted, Jesus Christ the Son of God was beaten, spit upon, ridiculed, forced to carry a heavy cross, nailed to that very same cross, and died. What a huge price to pay. Would I have paid such a heavy price for my two kids before we adopted them? Now that they are my children I would pay any price to save them, but to pay that heavy of a price before they were mine seems incomprehensible. But God paid that price for me, and you.
Just as Caleb and Abigail are now co-heirs of everything I have, we, if we are believers in Christ, are co-heirs with Christ. Paul tells us in Romans 5:7, ” Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” We share in Jesus’ inheritance. One day we will experience the full inheritance of Christ. I believe that day is coming sooner than many people think, but that is a subject for another post. Until we are in eternity we can still experience our inheritance through the Holy Spirit. The question is whether we are willing to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives or are we going to squander our inheritance like the prodigal son? Just as the prodigal son’s father was waiting and looking for the son to return, God is waiting with open arms for those who have wandered away from Him to return to Him. How great is Your love God, that You would love a sinner such as me.
Here are the words to one of my favorite songs. Oh, How He Loves by David Crowder:
He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, And I realise just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me.
And oh, how He loves us oh, Oh how He loves us, How He loves us all
And we are His portion and He is our prize, Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes, If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking. And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss, And my heart turns violently inside of my chest, I don’t have time to maintain these regrets, When I think about, the way…
Oh, how He loves us oh, Oh how He loves us, How He loves us all How He loves
Yeah, He loves us, Oh! how He loves us, Oh! how He loves us, Oh how He loves. Oh what love
Yeah, He loves us, Oh! how He loves us, Oh! how He loves us, Oh! how He loves us so.
Father, you are God and my Savior. I pray Lord that I do not squander the inheritance I have through Christ. Help me to surrender to Your Spirit daily, even by moment if necessary. You are my Hope and Salvation and all glory and honor and praise is due your name. May Your praise always be on my heart, my mind, and shared by the words that I say. – Amen
Poimen Chris 