The Family of God
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” (Galatians 4:4-7)
In these days of darkness and confusion throughout the media we hear the voices of many people crying out for justice and peace even while preaching hatred, division, selfishness, and sexual immorality. They all are crying out for God even though they do not know it. They fear God not in the sense of awe and obedience but they fear the loss of autonomy and self-determination that He demands. So they dispose of Him by recreating Him in their own image or by just rejecting the truth of His existence. The God who has revealed Himself through Jesus is not to their liking.
Those who reject Jesus and promote selfishness long for the comfort of the words of Paul “Abba! Father!” They want peace and justice, yet cannot call God Father for such words demand surrender of self to His will. These great words affirm our faith as they help us to understand and live within the loving relationship the Lord has with us. They remind us that the Lord is carrying us in His loving arms. He will protect and comfort us and lead us into His Heavenly Kingdom as long as we trust and obey Him.
In Christ Jesus we find the peace and unity that all world clamors for yet works against. Our modern media driven culture teaches us that everybody is a child of God, a member of His family. Yet the Word of God tells us something different: only those who have faith, who believe that Jesus is God and that He died for our sins, are members of God’s family. God imparts His Holy Spirit into the heart of every believer, so only they are members of God’s family. Only those who have the Holy Spirit of God can call Him Father, and they are members of His family, the Church.