Eph 1:5 In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will...
One of the hardest things for me to grasp in this Christian walk is the fact that it pleases God to love me. It actually gives God pleasure to lavish his love, grace and blessings upon my life. In the first chapter of Ephesians Paul writes that we are adopted as sons through Christ to God according to the pleasure of His will. That statement is so powerful for me specifically because of the word "adoption". This word sticks out because I know that I sometimes don't live my life as though I have been lovingly adopted by God the Father, but instead I find myself living life as if I am an unwanted step child. Oh how life would change if we lived as though we were wanted and not pitied. Let me further explain myself.
The word adopted here literally means "to place one as a son". Meaning this person has been placed in a position and given rights as ones own child! The adopted then inherits everything a blood child would inherit. It is to formally and legally declare that someone who is not ones own child is from this point forward to be treated and cared for as ones own child!
Now of course this is referring to tangible possessions as well but I what I really want to focus in on is the fact that this is more importantly focusing on the intangible benefits of adoption. I am speaking about the love that comes with this type of adoption. It is so hard for most to imagine and understand the love of God, let alone receive it, but yet it has been given to us and even lavished on us freely, simply because it gives Him pleasure to do so. It pleases God to love me without restraint. It pleases God to give me all of His affection, time, attention, and favor just as He would give His own Son.
It is through Christ that I now can stand next to Jesus and also cry out "Father". It is through Jesus that I can be totally and completely adored by God Himself, just as a Father adores his newborn daughter. This is what it means to be adopted as sons, and yet I don't live as though I have all these benefits with God. At times I act as though I am a burden to God. I act as though God wouldn't dare want to hear about my problems, or want to hold me when I am crying. I think of God as too big, and too Holy, and too busy to even begin to know the things going on with me, let alone have time to tend to them. Why? Why do I place all these presuppositions on God? Why do I make God out to be this distant God who is incapable of possessing feelings toward me and my situations. This is the same God who told me to "cast all my cares on Him". The same God who told me to "boldly come to the throne of grace". The same God who told me that if I seek Him first then all my needs will be met. And this is the same God who lovingly adopted me through Christ unto Himself. He calls me His own and we must begin to see ourselves as just that. We are not pitied but we are loved. We are not forsaken but we are desired. He lovingly adopted me and it pleased Him to do so. I AM LOVED!
Dear God,
Would you help me to realize the position you have put me in. Would help me to live in your love for me. You have pleasure in your father-daughter relationship with me. That is what makes you happy, and so God I will honor it. Help me to allow you to love me. Help me to receive the affection that you desire to give. I am a daughter if the King and will act as such! Thank you. Amen.
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For me, it was very hard to understand the concept of unconditional love. God takes so much pleasure in loving us, His love goes deeper than I can ever imagine til sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the thought that I am loved so deeply by God. All of my life it seems as whenever someone expressed love for me it was always with a condition - so that is what I thought love was about. Through these conditions I was hurt deeply and my heart was hardened - but God refused to leave me in this state; but the more He showed me His love the more I just could not understand, I questioned it time and time again, it was just so hard for me to accept the fact that He is really my Father and He loves me. Yeah, I knew this in my mind because that is what I have always been told - but to know it, believe it, accept it so deep within my soul I just could not; I don't know why, maybe it was because I felt I did not deserve that type of love; I really do not know - I came to a point in my life to where I was emotionally desperate, if that makes any sense. I began to cry out to God, I did not want to continue living my life without His love - not understanding that all the time He was right there loving me, protecting me, providing for me, taking care of my every need and still waiting for me to accept His love. As I cried out to Him, He did just as a loving father would do - He comforted me, consoled me, He took me in His arms and He began to reveal His love to me in such a way that I would not have any doubts about His love for me - wow, what an amazing God we serve - at that moment in my life I really understood the love God has for me - wow, how could I have not known - it is the greatest thing in the world to experience God's love. God loves me unconditonally, that means when I trip and fall He is right there to catch me, to chastise me, to do whatever I need, just as a loving parent does - there is no greater love than the love of our Father. I thank You God for loving me.
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