Accepted by Adoption

Hello and welcome to Van Life Devotions. Today I want to share about being accepted into God’s family as a reason to follow Jesus. Being accepted is a human need. We like to be accepted – accepted on a team, for a role at work, or a place in a university. Being accepted makes us feel wanted. When you are not accepted on a team or for a role at work or into a university you feel rejected. Whether you have been accepted onto a team, in a role, or a place the Bible teaches that “Christ has accepted you…” (Romans 15:7 NIrV).

But there’s a condition that also comes with a promise. The Bible says, “to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12 NLT). The condition is, you need to believe in Jesus and accept His teachings. Why follow Jesus? To be accepted by Him. When you are accepted by the captain of the team or the boss at work or academia at a university you are accepted into a position, a role, a course. When you believe and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, you are accepted into God’s very own family. Again, that Bible verse says, “to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12 NLT). If you accept Jesus, God accepts you into His very family. This is totally amazing.

How are you given “the right to become children of God”? The Bible says, “God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:5 NLT). You become God’s child through being adopted. Out of His love God wants to adopt you.

We know that “an adoption is the legal process by which a person legally becomes a child of the adoptive parents…”. Likewise with God, there was a process in adopting us. The Bible says, “God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children” (Galatians 4:5 NLT). Your freedom from slavery of sin and your adoption into God’s family was paid for when Jesus died on the cross.

Here’s what it means to be accepted into God’s family.  

First, being accepted as a child of God means that your standing with Him changes. According to ancient Roman law, an adopted child becomes a new person. So new was the child that even all their debts connected with their previous life were abolished. That is what God has done for you. The Bible says, “you are no longer a slave but God's own child…” (Galatians 4:7 NLT). You are in the power of sin; God, through Jesus, can take you out of that power into His family; and that act of adoption wipes out the past and makes you new. Your purpose and destiny have changed.

Second, being accepted as a child of God means that your future is assured. Again, according to Roman Law when a child was adopted, they had all the rights and privileges as that of a child who was born into that family. It is the same with those who are adopted into God’s family. The Bible says, “…And since you are His child, God has made you His heir” (Galatians 4:7 NLT). And as an heir, you are promised many blessings which includes a room in heaven. Your future, its promises and blessings are all assured because you are accepted into God’s family. Incredible! 

In 1998 Destiny Twohill was born. Instead of being aborted, her birth mother chose to give her life by leaving her on the doorsteps of an orphanage in China where she was found by a groundskeeper in the morning. She wasn’t well and was examined. Being a poor orphanage with limited resources the policy was to determine whether a baby is likely to survive or not. The babies deemed unlikely to survive were then placed in a designated room until they passed away. After her evaluation, they decided that she was too sick to be saved and was placed in a basket ready to be taken to that room.

While waiting in the basket on the floor, the director of the orphanage passed by and saw her and all of the sudden, a commotion broke out. The director saw in this little baby something different and said that she was in the wrong line. She was then placed in the room where the babies were well cared for.

While this was happening in China, in another country a couple opened their home to adopt a baby. When the photo arrived, they left for China to pick up their daughter Destiny. This is another story.

Today, Destiny has graduated from university with a major in Biology and a minor in Spanish literature. The next goal for Destiny is working towards becoming a Physician Assistant in the medical field. In Destiny’s words: “My birth mother saw me, the groundskeeper saw me, the director saw me, my parents saw me, but most importantly, God saw me before anybody else did”.

And God sees you and wants to adopt you.

Why follow Jesus? To be accepted into God’s family. You are loved, wanted, and valued.

How do you follow Jesus? Trust and obey. Trust in faith that Jesus is God’s Son who saved you on the cross. And follow Jesus as Lord by obeying His teachings.

I invite you to pray this prayer with me:

Father God.

I am sorry that I am a sinner.

Thank you for forgiving me and

for wanting and accepting me into your family.

Help me to put my trust in You.

Enable me to obey Your teachings.

In Jesus’ name

Amen

David Moyes