Editor's note: Enjoy today's devotion from Finding Freedom in Jesus by Dr. JP Foster and Dr. Matt Williams.
*
To all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. — John 1:12
When you hear the word father, does it stir up good feelings or bad feelings in you? While some people are fortunate to have caring and loving fathers, others have faced the pain of abandonment, abuse, alcoholism, neglect, or indifference. The U.S. Census Bureau stated in 2023 that 25 percent of children grow up without a father.1 When we consider what it means to be adopted into the family of God, with God as our Father, our experiences (or lack of experiences) with our earthly fathers impact how we view God as Father. If your dad didn’t have time for you, you may conclude that God doesn’t have time for you either.
As we reflect on adoption in Jesus, one of our primary goals is to recognize the goodness of our heavenly Father and to understand that being embraced into his family is a truly positive experience. God loves and cares for me. He intentionally chose me. He adopted me.
Understanding the truth that we are adopted by a loving Father can transform our identity.
- Who am I? I am adopted in Jesus. I can be transformed when I embrace that truth.
Adopted in Our Culture
In the United States, there is an epidemic of children in need of adoption. Of the 400,000 children in foster care, about 117,000 are waiting to be adopted.2 Common reasons that children enter the foster system include neglect, abuse, and abandonment. In Los Angeles County alone, more than one hundred kids per day are placed in foster care — each day! Looking at statistics worldwide is even more heartbreaking. It is estimated that there are 147 million orphans in our world, and 20 million of these children are awaiting adoption.3
Parents who adopt children assume permanent legal responsibility for those children. They care for, provide, protect, and love them as their very own. Adopted children become members of the family. In the same way, when we believe in Jesus, we are adopted as children of God and become a part of his family (John 1:12). Therefore as believers, we must embrace what it truly means to be adopted by God, our good, good Father.
What Does the Bible Say About Being Adopted?
Adopted in the Old Testament
One of the earliest instances of adoption in the Bible is seen when Pharaoh’s daughter adopted Moses (Exodus 2:10). Much later in the Old Testament, Esther was adopted by her cousin, Mordecai (Esther 2:7). And David was spiritually adopted by God:
I will be his Father, and he will be My son. — 2 Samuel 7:14
God adopts Israel. God chose the people of Israel and adopted them:
Israel is My firstborn son. — Exodus 4:22
After their rescue from Egypt, God told them,
I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. — Exodus 6:7
God told the prophet Hosea that the Israelites
will be called ‘children of the living God’. — Hosea 1:10
God adopted the Israelites as His own children.
Israel’s benefits as adopted. In any adoption, there are benefits and responsibilities. As the adopting Father, God took on responsibilities such as guiding and protecting the Israelites:
I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s Father. — Jeremiah 31:9
God also loved and cared for Israel:
The Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son. — Deuteronomy 1:31
As a Father, God accepted these responsibilities, and Israel, His adopted child, benefited from His love, guidance, and protection.
Israel’s responsibilities as adopted. What responsibilities did the Israelites have as adopted children of God? To become more and more like their Father God. But before stating their responsibilities, God provided the theological foundation of their adoption:
You are the children of the Lord your God. You are a people holy to the Lord your God. — Deuteronomy 14:1–2
Just as children naturally imitate their fathers, Israel was called to imitate their Father:
Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. — Leviticus 19:2
What did holiness require? Many of us know about the Ten Commandments, but did you know that there are 613 commandments in the Law of Moses? There are 365 negative commandments (“don’t...”) and 248 positive commandments (“do...”). These laws weren’t intended to ruin the Israelites’ lives; obeying them would lead to being blessed with true life and freedom. God reminded the Israelites before they entered the promised land,
All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God. — Deuteronomy 28:2
A point worth repeating here is that
true freedom, joy, blessing, and contentment are only found when we live the way God designed us to live.
Fatherly discipline. Israel did not always live up to their responsibilities as God’s adopted children. They disobeyed Him and committed idolatry by following other gods (Isaiah 1:2). As a result, like any good and loving father, God disciplined them. The nation of Israel was conquered and carried away to foreign countries. Many skeptics point to the exile as proof that God is evil and doesn’t care for His people, but the opposite is true.
If abundant life and freedom are found only in following God’s commandments, then the exile should be understood as discipline and not punishment. The goal of the exile was to bring Israel back to God their Father:
The Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son He delights in. — Proverbs 3:12
- God the Father always desires to welcome back His adopted children.
Future hope. Even in the exile, after Israel had sinned and rejected God over and over again, God did not abandon or disown His adopted children. God’s fatherly, unconditional love was seen in His promise that His people would return from exile and be restored. They would once again experience a close relationship with God:
So you will be My people, and I will be your God. — Jeremiah 30:22
These prophecies were fulfilled in the New Testament.
Adopted in the New Testament
The New Testament speaks more specifically to how believers in Jesus are adopted into God’s family:
To all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. — John 1:12
God chose to adopt because He delighted in us:
He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will. — Ephesians 1:5
God wants you to be part of His eternal family and He wants to be your adoptive heavenly Father.
Abba, Father. Jewish children called their father Abba, which signified authority as well as intimacy. Our heavenly “Papa” welcomes us.
We can call out to Him day or night for help and assurance, just as Jesus did in Gethsemane in His time of sorrow:
My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. — Matthew 26:39
Remember that Jesus taught His disciples to pray to “our Father” (Matthew 6:9). God is our Father, just as much as He is Jesus’ Father. As adopted sons and daughters, we have an intimate, loving relationship with our Abba, Father:
The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’. — Romans 8:15
- No matter what your relationship with your earthly father is like, don’t be afraid to rest your head on your heavenly Father’s shoulder and tell Him all your troubles.
He delights in you.
1. “Statistics Tell the Story: Fathers Matter,” National Fatherhood Initiative, accessed September 10, 2024, www.fatherhood.org/father-absence-statistic.
2. “About the Children,” Adopt US Kids, accessed September 10, 2024, www.adoptuskids.org/meet-the-children/children-in-foster-care/about-the-children.
3. “Facts and Stats,” Home for Every Child, accessed September 10, 2024, www.homeforeverychild.org/facts-and-stats.
Excerpted with permission from Finding Freedom in Jesus by Dr. JP Foster and Dr. Matt Williams, copyright John-Paul C. Foster and Matt Williams.
* * *
Your Turn
Did you know that as a believer you’re adopted — you’re God’s child! He’s a good Father. He delights in you! ~ Devotionals Daily