Romans 8:14-16 (NIV)
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba,Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
1 John 3:1 (NIV)
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Reflection
A young mother can hear her son’s cry amongst the cries of all other babies. A father can immediately pick out his daughter’s face in a school class picture. Parents know their children – their voices and faces. That is the same with our Heavenly Father who knows us, His children. When we opened our hearts to Christ, the Holy Spirit came upon us and brought about our adoption as God’s children. How good it is to be chosen and adopted. Because the Spirit has entered into our lives, the Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are now God’s children. No longer enslaved to sin or fear but we are now called sons and daughters of God. As His dearly loved children, we also know the Father. We can recognize the Spirit, hear the Father’s voice, and call out to Him.
Response
In response to the great love the Father has lavished on us, let’s pray and listen to the Father’s voice and pay attention to the Spirit’s leading. As we pray, let’s surrender to the Spirit’s leading and stop listening to the distracting voices of fear or doubt. May the Spirit testify over and over that we truly are the children of God.
