Romans 8:15 - “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’”

The Bible is not discreet about our relationship with God. It is clear. God is our Father; we are his children. Most of those are found in the New Testament because through Christ, we have a new identity as an adopted child of God. Galatians 4:7 says, “Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”

“You’re a good, good Father. It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are. And I’m loved by You. It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am.”

The word “father” invokes up all sorts of images for people. For some, “father” is associated with warm memories, laughter, family trips or long conversations on a front porch. For others the word is associated with absence, rejection, hurt, or pain. At times, we have greatly distorted what the role of a father was intended to be. This is why it’s so important to understand that God is not only our Father, but he is a goodFather.

You may believe you are a child of God, but do you believe, really believe to your very core, that you are loved by God? This can be a difficult truth to grasp, even for the most fervent believer. Guilt, shame and sin can prevent us from believing in and experiencing the love of God. Bitterness and past experiences remain in our hearts and minds and over the years, we grab hold of a lie that he wants good for others, but not for ourselves.

This sort of thinking is counter to what scripture says about God as our Father. Think about how the Father figure of God is described and what this says about his character: he embraces the prodigal son, and the older brother - he is loving, accepting and patient (Luke 15); he takes care of the sparrows but says he cares much more for his children than the sparrows - he provides and is attuned to our needs (Matthew 10); he goes after every single lost sheep until it is found - he pursues a relationship with us and doesn’t ever get tired of looking after the lost (Luke 15).
(From Andrea Lucado’s devotional, Good Good Fatherwith edits.)

With God’s Spirit and thanksgiving, let’s pray Romans 8:15 today, substituting “I” in place of the “you’s.”. Pray the verse for someone else you know who is in Christ and may be going through difficult times, subtituting their name also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBmwwwiHrOk

-AP