Day 4 - Adopted

We are adopted. Our identity now lies in being sons and daughters of a King.

Pray Ephesians 1:5-6

For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace—for the same love he has for his Beloved One, Jesus, he has for us. And this unfolding plan brings him great pleasure! TPT™

We are His children – we are sons and daughters of a King! That royal mark denotes the authority carried with THE NAME! I’m suddenly making connections with the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20) Jesus gave to His disciples – the power and authority He gave to them, are just like that of a Father giving to his adopted sons and daughters – full authority and right to carry the NAME!

Then Jesus, overflowing with the Holy Spirit’s anointing of joy, exclaimed, “Father, thank you, for you are Lord Supreme over heaven and earth! You have hidden the great revelation of this authority from those who are proud, those wise in their own eyes, and you have shared it with these who humbled themselves. Yes, Father. This is what pleases your heart and the very way you’ve chosen to extend your kingdom: to give to those who become like trusting children.

“Father, you have entrusted me with all that you are and all that you have. No one fully knows the Son except the Father. And no one fully knows the Father except the Son. But the Son is able to introduce and reveal the Father to anyone he chooses.” Luke 10:21-22, TPT™

The SON chose to reveal the Father to us, the co-heirs of Jesus, adopted sons and daughters – when He called us to do even greater things that He. Suddenly, all the pieces seem to fit together – why would the Father choose to bestow power, authority, the name, rights…to those who were “simply saved” (this would be enough in and of itself)? He chose it because He calls us His OWN! We belong and we belong to Him!

“I alone am the Good Shepherd, and I know those whose hearts are mine, for they recognize me and know me, just as my Father knows my heart and I know my Father’s heart. I am ready to give my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that I will gather which are not of this Jewish flock. And I, their shepherd, must lead them too, and they will follow me and listen to my voice. And I will join them all into one flock with one shepherd. John 10:14-16

He is our Good Shepherd! As sheep, we KNOW His voice! We listen; we follow. And this shepherd, He is faithful to those sheep that belong to Him, that if even ONE is lost, He is faithful to go after that ONE until He can bring him home (Luke 15:4-5).

For indeed, we are the temple of the living God, just as God has said:

I will make my home in them and walk among them.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.^[t]

¹⁷For this reason,

“Come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord.
“Touch nothing that is unclean, and I will embrace you.^[u]
¹⁸I will be a true Father to you,^[v]
and you will be my beloved sons and daughters,”
says the Lord Yahweh Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 (TPT™)

Beloved sons and daughters – called out to be separate – with brand new identities!

As we know, we’re the children of God. We’re not illegitimate children (Hebrews 12:7–11). Rather, we’re the rightful heirs of the kingdom of God. The ramifications of this truth are world-shaking. In the midst of a world that attempts to label us; in a world where we’re constantly discarded; in a world where we are continually degraded; in a world that repeatedly wounds us; in a world filled to the brim with our failures and faults: we’ve been adopted into the family of a Father who declares before heaven and earth his deep pride in us.
We are not the names we’ve been given. We are not the past we’ve lived. We are not even the future yet to arrive.
We are sons and daughters of God, and in us, God is deeply pleased.
Discovering Our Identity as Sons and Daughters of Christ, Michael Palmer, the Foundry Foundation

As I sat across from a new friend this morning and listened to the beautiful story of adopting their teenage daughter, I was overwhelmed with the beauty of being chosen. I was also made painfully aware that even though one is chosen, it doesn’t mean they understand their new identity. Family should mean belonging, forever, all the rights and privileges that come with the family name, and a love, a love that is pervasive, pursuing and unconditional.

I pray that we would each GROW in this family identity – let it forever change us! Let us embrace our sonship!

May the Church and all believers come to revelation knowledge of our identity in Christ – not as the world sees us, not as we see ourselves even, but as Jesus sees us (through the reflection of the finished work on the cross). Imagine if we truly believed and walked as He sees us. We would be unstoppable forces – for Him!