A few years ago a man told me, in the car park after church, that he had been a Christian for twenty years and still felt like he was on probation. Twenty years. He read his Bible, he gave, he served on a roster. And every Sunday he walked in half expecting someone to tap him on the shoulder and ask what he was doing there.
Church, that is not a faith problem. That is an identity problem. He knew he was forgiven. He did not know he was family.
Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:4 to 6 (NKJV)
Read that slowly. He chose us. Before the foundation of the world. Adoption starts with the Father’s decision, not your application. Predestined us to adoption. It was the plan, not a rescue bolted on after things went wrong. According to the good pleasure of His will. He wanted to. Accepted in the Beloved. Your standing rests on Jesus, so a bad week cannot revoke it.
Three things that settle it
- Chosen before you chose. You did not find God. He found you, and He had been looking since before there was a world to look in.
- Accepted in the Beloved. You are not accepted on your own merits. You are accepted in His. That is why it holds.
- A Father who runs. In Luke 15 the father sees the son a great way off and runs to him before the rehearsed apology is finished. Nobody in that culture ran. He did.
Orphans earn their keep. Sons and daughters take their place.
Here is the question I keep asking people: where are you still standing at the door of a house you already live in? You have been given the keys and you are still knocking. You have a seat at the table and you are eating in the hallway.
What would change this week if you believed, really believed, that you were wanted here?
Your challenge
Say the first two words of the Lord’s Prayer out loud, today, and mean them. Our Father. Not the headmaster. Not the landlord. Father. If you can say Our Father, you can stop auditioning.
This is post 1 of ten in the Adopted series. It introduces the whole book. Every chapter of the book ends with reflection questions, a prayer and a set of faith confessions, and a ten session small group guide is included. Read chapter one free, or get your copy.
