Children of the most high King, that is what you and I are if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Jesus Himself chose and adopted us into His family, Ephesians 1:4 & 5. God is relational and has always desired a relationship with His creation since Adam and Eve. When we place our trust in God, He becomes our Father and we become His children. Everyone was created by God, but not everyone is His child. When we are born again, we become part of the family of God. Having faith in Jesus is your ticket to becoming a child of God and therefore inheriting all the treasures awaiting you in heaven, Galatians 3:26-29.
We must remember that our earthly family is very important to us. No one can replace them and our love runs deeper within our own families than anywhere else. But our heavenly family, those who also believe in Jesus Christ and have accepted Him into their lives, should be honored above all because this is the family you will spend eternity with.
Being a child of the most high King has its advantages. We are loved unconditionally, we have an inheritance like none other, we are forgiven, blessed. Our inheritance is secure and waiting for us, Ephesians 1:18. Our inheritance is not like those that we have known on earth. We get to spend eternity with God, we are changed to become more like Jesus, we will be free from all pain, sickness, suffering and death, and we get to share in Christ’s glory. I Peter 1:4 reminds us our inheritance is reserved for us, wow! Think of that. No one can take this inheritance away, replace or change it and it is waiting for us. It’s our reward, a blessing and God has chosen to reserve an awesome inheritance out of His love for us. Retirements and pensions can relive our fears of our future security, but an inheritance from God is an eternal goal we should never lose sight of.
A way to identify with the family of God publically is to be baptized. It’s an external confirmation to others we have given our internal lives to Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:19 says, “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Baptism symbolizes entrance into God’s eternal family and is an outward celebration of this internal decision. God commands us to be baptized, so why wait? Once you have given your life to the Lord, there is no reason to put off being baptized. God says if you love Him you will obey Him. Matthew 10:32 & 33 says, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Don’t wait until you are spiritually mature to get baptized; do it right away or soon after your conversion. In the Old Testament, people were baptized as soon as they believed, some the same day they accepted Christ, and another on the spot where he was converted. (Warren, 2002) There was no reason for any delays then and there is surely no reason for them now. Just as today is the day of salvation, our baptism should be an act we perform from our hearts right away.
Jesus is not ashamed of us, why should we ever be ashamed of Him. God is proud to call us His very own, Hebrews 2:11. Rick Warren says, “Being included in God’s family is the highest honor and the greatest privilege you will ever receive.” When you feel you don’t belong in this world or needed, remember to Whom you belong and are fully accepted.
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