Children of God

Jesus,

You have been loved by your Father

Forever

And how thankful we are

that You want to share that love

Welcoming us in,

the adopted

into the intimacy

already there

How blessed

are the Children of God

And You not only welcome us

but You long for us

You want this great big family

of loved ones

How encircling is Your heart,

my Lord

I can’t wait to be with You

where You are

– Susie Stewart

Father, I long for the time when those You have given Me can join Me in My place so they may witness My glory, which comes from You. You have loved Me before the foundations of the cosmos were laid.

– John 17:24 (VOICE)

But for all who did receive and trust in Him, He gave them the right to be reborn as children of God

– John 1:12 (VOICE)

And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we’ll be ready for Him when He appears, ready to receive Him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when He arrives.

– 1 John 2:28 (MSG)

How blessed is God! And what a blessing He is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in Him. Long before He laid down earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure He took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of His lavish gift-giving by the hand of His beloved Son.

– Ephesians 1:3-6 (MSG)

Father, I want those you gave Me
To be with Me, right where I am,
So they can see My glory, the splendor you gave Me,
Having loved Me
Long before there ever was a world.
Righteous Father, the world has never known You,
But I have known You, and these disciples know
That You sent me on this mission.
I have made Your very being known to them—
Who You are and what you do—
And continue to make it known,
So that Your love for Me
Might be in them
Exactly as I am in them.

– John 17:24-26 (MSG)

Photo by Susie Stewart

It would be enough if God just cleansed your name, but He does more. He give you His name. It would be enough if God just set you free, but He does more. He takes you home…

Adoptive parents understand this more than anyone. I certainly don’t mean to offend ny biological parents – I’m one myself. We biological parents know well the earnest longing to have a child. But in many cases our cribs were filled easily. We decided to have a child and a child came. In fact, sometimes the child came with no decision. I’ve heard of unplanned pregnancies, but I’ve never heard of an unplanned adoption.

That’s why adoptive parents understand God’s passion to adopt us. They know what it means to feel an empty space inside. They know what it means to hunt, to set out on a mission, and take responsibility for a child with a spotted past and a dubious future. If anybody understands God’s ardor for His children, it’s someone who has rescued an orphan from despair, for that is what God has done for us.

God has adopted you. God sought you, found you, signed the papers and took you home.

– Max Lucado

Long ago, before God made the world, God chose us to be His very own, through what Christ would do for us; He decided then to make us holy in His eyes, without a single fault we who stand before Him covered in His love. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And He did this because He wanted to.

– Ephesians 1:3-5 (TLB)

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

– Romans 8:15-16 (NASB)

But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

– Galatians 4:4-5 (NASB)