You really are His child

Good morning, everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sound doctrine, strong faith”

Our Bible verse for today: “The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs – heirs of God and coheirs with Christ – if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” Romans 8:16-17 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “You really are His child”

In yesterday’s devotional I told you the story of how my four children were all adopted by and how in our family, we decided there would be no hyphens – no stepfather, stepson, stepdaughter, adopted this or that. We were father, mother, sons, and daughter. We were a family. Period. We wanted our children to know it and to never doubt it.

In Romans 8:16 Paul writes that the Spirit of God testifies with our spirit that as Christians we are children of God. I am a child of God and He loves me fully, unconditionally – the Spirit confirms that for me, Spirit-to-spirit, heart-to-heart, and God does not want me to be in doubt about it. In verse 17 Paul even goes on to assure us that we are full heirs of God’s kingdom and co-heirs with Christ.

Sadly, not all Christians have that sense of peace and assurance about their relationship with God. But that’s not God’s fault and it’s not from any lack of effort on His part to communicate that truth to us. When someone is unsure of and insecure in their relationship with God, that indicates a lack of deep discipleship. But the more time and effort we invest into developing and nurturing our relationship with our heavenly Father, the more we will be able to rest in the assurance of who we are as a child of His.

This is why discipleship is so important. When we neglect it, we are depriving ourselves of something that God wants very much for us to have – this great sense of being loved by Him, and of being secure in our relationship with Him.

Then in verse 17 Paul says that not only are we secure in our relationship as God’s children, but we are heirs of the kingdom. Co-heirs with Christ. That’s very significant. As God’s children we are heirs of His kingdom and all that it consists of. We are co-heirs of it, along with Jesus. He willingly shares what is rightfully His with His brothers and sisters, making us co-heirs along with Him. The reason Paul is making this point here, in this passage, is to drive home the reality that as children of God, adopted into His heavenly family, we are not hyphenated children. We are not only partially in. We are as fully His children and as completely a part of His family as we can possibly be. So much so, that Jesus happily shares His inheritance with us.

As a child of God, you are not just sort of in His family, you are all in, fully in, and He sees you as His dearly loved child.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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