Of Fathers and Sons預覽

Today’s analogy: “You might be a nice kid, but you’re not my son.”

One Saturday afternoon I took my son Caleb down to a local children’s fair.  They had some fun games; a firetruck of course; bouncy houses, stuff like that.  We walked along together, ate some cotton candy, and generally enjoyed ourselves.

At some point another young boy started walking along with us.  I’m not sure where he came from or where his parents were, but he was a friendly young man so we chatted for a while and shared some cotton candy with him.  Eventually we parted ways; not too long afterwards my son and I left the fair and headed home.  We never saw the other young boy again.

Here’s the thing: he was a nice young man, but he wasn’t my son, so naturally I didn’t take him home with us.  And it got me thinking about some things the Bible says about being a part of God’s family.  For instance:

1. Not everyone is a child of God.  Only those who believe what the Bible says about Jesus, and accept it, are sons of God: John 1:9-12
2. God gives good and gracious gifts to every human: sunshine, rain, cotton candy, life itself.  But ultimately, they’re temporary gifts; and only God’s children are entitled to God’s infinite wealth forever: Romans 8:15-17
3. Anyone is welcome to be adopted into God’s family.  Simply acknowledge that this is God's world and you break his rules (sin), be sorry about it (repentance), and trust Jesus to forgive you (faith):  Acts 2:37-38

As you read today’s Bible passages, answer this question in your own mind: are you part of God’s family?  If so, thank God for being your good, good Father!  (If not, what’s holding you back?  If you have questions, email me; I'd love to hear from you.)