Who Are the Children of God?

“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike ‘What’s next, Papa?’” (Romans 8:15 The Message)

Being a child of God is not a reconstruction of an old life, it’s the transformation into a brand-new species of being, one that has never existed before (2 Corinthians 5:17). The picture painted is the emergence of the butterfly from its cocoon.

It’s the trading of the shackles of sin, enmeshed by the tentacles of wrong desires, for the freedom of a bird liberated from its cage, able to fly to heights heretofore unimagined.

To view being a child of God as one bound by rules, regulations and religious ceremony is to see an Eagle and think its a Sparrow. Being God’s child isn’t restrictive, it’s liberating; it doesn’t keep us from that which is desirable, it enables us to fly to the heights of our Father’s beauty and majesty, opening avenues of life and living that we never dreamed possible this side of heaven. We see with new, holy eyes, trained to see God’s fingerprints everywhere and in everything that touches our lives.

The fact that so many who profess faith in Jesus live well below their means, isn’t God’s fault, and it’s certainly not His will. And please don’t misunderstand, I’m not speaking of material, earth-focused things when I use the term “means.” I’m speaking of the liberation of our spirit that allows us to believe and to expect great things from God, our gracious Father.

My dad was a machinist by trade, but he would buy and sell used cars as a means of generating additional income. He had an eye for what a car could become. His motto was “pay attention to detail.” He told me, “To have a car gleaming and the interior sparkling, but to not clean the tires is like a man in a new suit who doesn’t polish his shoes.” My dad wasn’t well educated, but he was smart.

We’ve got to “pay attention to detail” as we walk as God’s son or daughter. What does that mean? It means if we look like, talk like, and live like the world, why would anyone desire our Savior? If the quality of our speech, work ethic, way we love our spouse and kids, and the habits of our lives don’t point people to Jesus, what will? If all we’re inviting others to do is come to Christ and be the same, of what eternal value is that?

For a person to claim to be a child of God but continue to live under the oppression of the evil one is a contradiction. I’m either free from the tyranny of sin or I’m not; I’m either liberated to walk closely with God or I’m not; I’m either focused on the things of God or I’m not. Yes, of course, there’s a period of “spiritual infancy” when we struggle to learn how to walk faithfully, but over time God will give us victory. There’s no room for habitual sin in the life of a child of God if we ever hope to be vessels through whom the Spirit can draw others to Him.

Verse 4 of John H. Sammis’ old hymn “Trust and Obey,” says: “But we never can prove the delights of His love until all on the altar we lay; for the favor He shows and the joy He bestows are for them who will trust and obey.”

If there’s no dependence upon our Father, realizing apart from Him we can do nothing; if there’s no desire to know Him more intimately, ever seeking to grow in our likeness of Him; if there’s no hunger for His Word (the Bible) and prayer (conversation with Him); if there’s no enthusiasm in loving and serving in and with His family, His Body, His Church; and if there’s no expectation that He’s going to use us in practical and even miraculous ways, what point is there in professing to be His child?

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being average, just getting by, simply living a safe, but ineffective and fruitless life. I want the light of Jesus to shine brightly in and through me as long as I have breath. Then I want to hit the proverbial ground running when I get to heaven, joining my brothers and sisters in praising and serving our Heavenly Father throughout all eternity, for no other reason than He’s our Dad, He loves us, and we love Him. That’s just what children of God do!

Blessings, Ed 😊