Adopted, not Bound

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the one he loves. --Ephesians 1:3-6

I learned something today.  It started me thinking.  Then I got excited.  I had to share it here.  Here it is.  Are you ready?

In most states, a person who gives up a child for adoption will lose all legal claim to that child once he or she is adopted.  Put another way, the parent who adopts a child assumes all legal rights and responsibilities pertaining to that child, and the act of adoption severs all legal ties between the "natural" parent and the child. Say a child is born, and his father runs off.  The single mother gets arrested, or falls apart, or figures out that she can't support the child.  That child is adopted by a healthy family.  Once that child grows to adulthood and makes his way in the world, there is no legal way for the biological mother (or father) to make a claim as a dependent of that person.  If Alice, a single mom, gives up Bob, who is adopted by Charlie and Diane, then when Bob grows up to be rich and famous, Alice can't legally come back to Bob and demand he take care of her.  Alice gave up that right to Charlie and Diane.

Okay, so why does this fact excite me so much?

Look at Ephesians 1:5.  As Christians, we have been adopted into God's family.  We have the right to call God our Father.  We have Jesus as our Brother, in a way--we, too, can be called God's children.  "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!" (1 John 3:1).  This concept was revolutionary in Jesus' day.  The Jews thought it blasphemous that Jesus would not only call God his father, but that he would teach his disciples to address God as "Our Father".

Each day since the first of the year, I have included in my morning prayer time a different paraphrase of the Lord's Prayer.  I don't recite it verbatim each day--that becomes tedious and the text loses all meaning for me; besides, the Bible says "avoid vain repetitions."  But when I think of what each separate phrase means, it comes alive for me.  For instance, when I get to the part about "give us this day our daily bread", I have substituted whatever I need for that day, asking God to provide for me.  I have also asked Him on occasion to open the Bread of Life, the Word to me in an extraordinary way today.  But the point I am driving at here is that the phrase "Our Father who is in Heaven" is not just a salutation.  It is an expression of praise.  "Our" denotes community; "Father" implies relationship; "Who" gives identity; "Is" inserts being, as well as currency and relevance; "In Heaven" gives current location, with the hope that He will one day invite us home with him there, because we are his children.

BUT THAT'S ONLY HALF THE STORY!!!

Before we were adopted as sons and daughters of God, whose children were we? At best, we were children of the world.  At worst, we were the offspring of Evil.  And that's what makes today's revelation so special.  The World has no claim over us.  Evil cannot come and take us back, not if we are truly repentant.  If I have given my heart to God, and He has adopted me as His child, then that's final.  Praise the Lord!

Oh, we can go and visit if we like.  And the world will call us frequently back to our old way of living.  That's why it is so important for us to realize who we are in Christ.  We must remember that the Curse has been lifted, and we are no longer bound under it.

In this country, seven states practice what is called "open adoption": California, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.  The thought is that there might be a reason for an adopted child to know about his biological parents--medical issues that might be hereditary, for example.  Some might want to interview their biological parents, to find out why they would make the choice to give up their children, so that the adoptees might not feel needlessly abandoned.

Spiritually, however, we want to stay as far away as we can from our "carnal" (another word for "natural") heritage.  You can bet that the World would love nothing better than to entice you away from the Father, and back into its sinful ways.  We must remember that the world has no legal right to us any more.  That is why the author of Hebrews wrote, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Don't let the World's tentacles tie you up, or trip you up and make you fall.  You have the right under God to shake off the ties that bind you, so that you can run to God.  When you do, you'll discover, like the Prodigal Son found out, that the Father is running toward you.

Praise to the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Our God and Our King, to Him we will sing
In His great mercy He has given us life
Now we can be called the children of God

Great is the love that the Father has given us
He has delivered us, well, He has delivered us

Children of God, sing your song and rejoice
For the love that He has given us all, oh, whoa
Children of God, by the blood of His Son
We have been redeemed and we can be called

Children of God
Children of God

Your mystery is revealed to the universe
The Father Above has proven His love
Now we are free from the judgment that we deserve
And we are called the children of God

Great is the love that the Father has given us
He has delivered us, He has delivered us

Children of God, sing your song and rejoice
For the love that He has given us all, oh, whoa
Children of God, by the blood of His Son
We have been redeemed and we can be called

Children of God
Children of God

We are the saints, we are the children, we've been redeemed, we've been forgiven
We are the sons and daughters of our God
We are the saints, we are the children, we've been redeemed, we've been forgiven
We are the sons and daughters of our God

Children of God, sing your song and rejoice
For the love that He has given us all, oh, whoa
Children of God, by the blood of His Son
We have been redeemed and we can be called

Children of God
(We are the saints, we are the children, we've been redeemed, we've been forgiven)
Children of God
(We are the sons and the daughters of our God)
Children of God
(We are the saints, we are the children, we've been redeemed, we've been forgiven)
Children of God
(We are the sons and the daughters of our God)

We are the saints, we are the children, we've been redeemed, we've been forgiven
We are the sons and the daughters of our God
We are the saints, we are the children, we've been redeemed, we've been forgiven
We are the sons and the daughters of our God

Read more: Third Day - Children Of God Lyrics | MetroLyrics