Identity in Christ - 4 (Adopted)

Pretend there is an orphan. He is unloved and unwanted. He has been abused, abandoned, cursed and reviled all his life. So, his core values have become being totally selfish and self-centered, because no one has built into him in any sort of positive way. He has learned wrong speech, wrong attitudes, wrong actions and wrong desires. And he acts as though he is the sun, and the universe revolves around him. (Basically, he is a real brat.)

Now, pretend that the richest man in the city comes to the orphanage to adopt a child. He sees this bratty orphan. He sees his wrong, hurtful behavior. He sees the bad decisions, and bad attitudes. He sees the bad badness. And against all warnings from the staff, he selects this child.

He sees past the present evil to a good future. He sees the effect love will have on the mind-set, behavior and attitudes of the child. He sees the potential; he sees the process of actualizing the potential.

• God's Perspective

We, of course, are the orphan and the rich man is the Father. We chose to live wrong. We made bad, wrong, foolish and evil decisions. (We still do ... but hopefully there is progress.) There was nothing good, nothing commendable, nothing to recommend us, but God still chose us.

He sees our potential. He sees how his love will cleanse us. He sees how his love will motivate and change us to move closer to how we were designed to live.

We become part of a new family. We have a new Father. A Father who chose us. He did not get us by default. He is not stuck with us. He chose us.

It is the Father's choice of us that makes all the difference.

• Living My Life

Of course, God chooses all the orphans. And some responded. Some recognized the value of being part of his family. Some looked beyond the walls of the home God gives us, trying to find something else. God still calls them his child. God works to still establish a relationship.

We were designed to have a relationship with the Father. We were designed to be part of his family.

We need to remember and focus on the fact that God wants this relationship.Realization of that ought to make us confident in our approach to life. We can take risks. Failure has no effect on the relationship.

We need to remember that it is the relationship that is important. The Bible translation you use, the church affiliation you belong to, or the ministry title you have is not important.

Some Christians work hard to draw distinctions. "This is what makes us different, therefore it is what makes us better when compared to other Christians and Christian groups." I will not argue against the importance of these distinctions. I will argue that one person who has chosen to live in relationship with the Father is more important than all the distinctions people come up with. Because it is the Father who values each person. That is the distinction God desires.