Last night I woke up and all I could think about was Jesus. I believe it was Jesus who woke me up. No, I didn’t see anything or hear anything, but it was the Holy Spirit nudging my heart to spend some time with Jesus. As I lay there, I began to think of all the things Jesus is to me. It wasn’t long until I drifted off to sleep, but I woke this morning with the same mindset. Today, I want to remind those who are Christians that because of Jesus we can have a new family.
Jesus made it possible for us to become sons and daughters of God. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become God’s children. We have a new family. We are adopted into the family of God because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. We have a new Father. As adopted children, we are joint-heirs with Christ. We are now privileged to take part in the eternal inheritance that God has prepared. We fully experience the love and affection that a child should receive from an earthly father. For many, this relationship with our heavenly Father will be the first time they have experienced a fatherly love. There are many who never know who their earthly father is, and if they do, they have a relationship that is distant and sometimes fearful. However, because of Jesus we can experience a Father that is full of compassion, loving, and protecting. We can experience a Father that will never walk out on us. He has promised He will never leave us and because He cannot lie, we can count on His promises to us.
John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
Romans 8:15-17 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
As a child, I become an heir, a joint heir with Christ, to an inheritance. Because of Jesus, I have a Father who owns everything. Because of Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us as the earnest or the guarantee for us that we will receive the inheritance Jesus purchased for us with His blood.
Ephesians 1:14 “Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
Because of Jesus we also have an extended family here in the church while we wait for our eternal home. Everyone who places their faith in Jesus and surrenders their life to Him becomes my brother or sister. God becomes their Father also, therefore we are spiritually bound as brothers and sisters in Him. One of the greatest gifts God gives us as believers is a new family when we become a Christian. While we each have a family of some sort here on earth that we live with, grew up with, or are connected to by physical blood, Jesus connects us with a family bound by His blood. I may not have much in common with my birth family, but with my brothers and sisters in Christ the most important part of me, my eternal soul, is connected. We love Jesus more than anything. Our desire is to see others come to know Him. We are not living for today, but for the eternal home that we will one day share together. We have a kindred Spirit living within us, the Holy Spirit. In I John 3:13-14, John calls those who are believers in Christ brethren. He states the evidence we have passed from spiritual death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Jesus’ sacrifice gives us a new family.
Galatians 3:26 “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
I John 3:13-14 “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”
