"Intimacy With Our Heavenly Father"

2Yet some people accepted Him (Christ) and put

their faith in Him. So He gave them the right to be

 the children of God. 13They were not God's children by

nature or because of any human desires. God himself

was the one who made them his children.

John 1:12-13 (CEV)

From the beginning, God intended to have an intimate, loving relationship with us. What evidence do we have that this is His desire? His Son. One reason Christ came to earth is for us to know and relate to God the Father. The Bible tells us that Jesus is His exact representation; His words and works were the same as God’s (John 5:19; 12:50). Therefore, when we look at the Son, we are seeing the character of our heavenly Father.

Invitation. Through the Scriptures, God invites us to join His family (3:16). He took care of all the arrangements; our part is to say yes.

Adoption. The closest tie we can have with one another is family. At salvation, the Lord adopts us into His own. This relationship with our heavenly Father lasts for eternity, providing us with support, encouragement, and love.

Friendship. By calling His disciples “friends” (15:15), Jesus revealed a new aspect to their relationship, which applied to His future followers as well. Christ is a forever friend, one who will never desert or turn away from us.

His Presence. From the moment of our salvation, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He is even closer to us than any earthly kin can be.

The Lord invites us to become family through faith in Christ. This is our highest calling—to believe in Him and live for Him all of our days (20:31). Once we become God’s children, His Spirit will work in us to make our family resemblance stronger and clearer in thought, word, and deed.
 
Be Blessed & Be a Blessing to One Another!
 
Dawn