Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

The Blessings Of Sons And Daughters

EPHESIANS 1:3-6 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

THEME OF THE DAY. THE BLESSINGS OF SONS AND DAUGHTERS. A child of God. Have we thought about this staggering reality recently? Sit back and ponder. The Creator of all things; the God who has always been and needs absolutely nothing or no one to satisfy Him has come to us and said, “My child.” Through the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, God has created a forever family consisting of people who were once His enemies but now privileged to be His children. Do some more pondering. What are some of the blessings we receive because God has become not an unknown Creator, but a known Creator-Father? Here are three our Heavenly Father gives us that will lead us to worship.

Our Heavenly Father adopts us into His forever family and will never disown us – even when we don’t act like His children. In today’s scripture, the Apostle Paul writes, “In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will” (Ephesians 1:5). Just like we didn’t get to choose our physical parents, we didn’t choose to make God our “Heavenly Father.” He chose us. We simply surrendered in belief to His choosing. What a glorious form of spiritual and eternal security! We are children of God according to His will not ours. Praise Him. Now for such marvelous grace.

Our heavenly Father disciplines or corrects us in the course of walking with Him. Yes, this is painful. Yes, we don’t like pain. Yes, we don’t like correction, but change those negative attitudes to positives. The reason why God corrects us is because we are His children – And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons (Hebrews 12:5-8). Don’t complain in His correction. Be conformed through His correction. That is what a good Father does!

Our heavenly Father preserves and keeps us from spiritually falling away. Oh, we will fall; what child has not experienced disobedience and falling short of a parent’s desire and command? But we won’t fall away from the Lord. The Father’s hand won’t let go. Jude wonderfully reminds us of the staying and keeping power of our Heavenly Father – Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy (Jude 24). When the Christian life gets hard, and it will; when we fail, and we will; don’t look at your hold on Christ as keeping you safe. Look at His hold on you that will never let you go! This, too, will lead to praise and worship for such a good God.

A child of God. Don’t take it for granted or forget it. Ponder the blessings and watch how such pondering deepens our love and devotion to the God of all grace who grants us the privilege to call Him, “Father.”

PRAYER: “Father, help me to remember who I am in Your Son and live out the privileges You have freely given me.”

QUOTE: “As God’s children, we are to be slowly but surely displaying ‘family traits’ in all our relationships.”