Friday, May 21, 2004
40 Days of Purpose Day 15
You were formed for God’s Family.
Consider this: you were born to be part of our Creator’s family, because He has a purpose for your life. He knew about you today, long before you were even born, because He created you to be a part of His plan for His family.
Because God is love, He treasures the relationships that are love. His very nature is relational, He created us in His own image and He identifies Himself in familial terms such as Father, Son and Spirit. The Trinity is God’s relationship to Himself. Rick Warren says that “It’s the perfect pattern for relational harmony, and we should study its implications.”
Remember that every person is created by God, but not everyone is a child of God. The only way to be a part of God’s family is to be born again into it. You became a member of the human family by your human birth, and you became a member of God’s family by your second birth. God ”has given us the privilege of being born again, so that we are now members of God’s own family.” 1 Peter 1:3b.
What is more important than your physical family is your spiritual family, God’s family, because they will last forever! The family we have here on Earth is a wonderful gift from God, but they are fragile and temporary, often broken by divorce, distance, growing old, and inevitably, death. Our spiritual family- our relationship to other believers – will continue throughout eternity; more permanent than our blood relationships.
“The Purpose Driven Life” describes the benefits of being in God’s family. Consider what the Bible says: ”Since you are His child, everything He has belongs to you.” Galatians 4:7b. When you are born into God’s family, you receive the family name, the family likeness, family privileges, family intimate access and the family inheritance. The New Testament gives much emphasis to the “inheritance” that we receive! No only does God promise to “meet all our needs” but we receive the “riches… of His grace…kindness…patience…glory…wisdom…power…and mercy.” In eternity we will inherit even more.
What does this mean to all of us? To me, it is what Paul said, “I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance He has given to His people.” Ephesians 1:18b. It is not what we have on Earth, but what we are building up in Heaven for eternity. Our eternal inheritance is protected, priceless and pure. The eternal inheritance is what we should be looking forward to, not our earthly retirement.
We identify with God’s family by baptism. In families that are very close and connected, there is no shame in being identified as part of that family, even if your name is Jim Smith! In God’s family, baptism identifies you as a member His family, it is part of the second purpose for your life – participating in the fellowship of God’s family. Baptism symbolizes death to your old life, declares your faith in Christ, shares His death and resurrection and announces your new life in Christ and your inclusion in God’s family. Baptism is a physical picture of a spiritual truth, representing what happened the moment God brought you into His family. The Bible tells us, ”Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ’s body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13.
The Bible also says, “Jesus and the people He makes holy all belong to the same family. That is why He isn’t ashamed to call them His brothers and sisters.” Hebrews 2:11. Wow. That carries the amazing truth that we are part of our Creator’s holy family, and because Jesus made you holy, God is proud of you! It is most humbling to me that God chose us to be in His family, and is the greatest privilege we could receive. Remember that when you feel down, or unimportant, or insecure, remember to whom you belong!
Next: What Matters Most.
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Consider this: you were born to be part of our Creator’s family, because He has a purpose for your life. He knew about you today, long before you were even born, because He created you to be a part of His plan for His family.
Because God is love, He treasures the relationships that are love. His very nature is relational, He created us in His own image and He identifies Himself in familial terms such as Father, Son and Spirit. The Trinity is God’s relationship to Himself. Rick Warren says that “It’s the perfect pattern for relational harmony, and we should study its implications.”
Remember that every person is created by God, but not everyone is a child of God. The only way to be a part of God’s family is to be born again into it. You became a member of the human family by your human birth, and you became a member of God’s family by your second birth. God ”has given us the privilege of being born again, so that we are now members of God’s own family.” 1 Peter 1:3b.
What is more important than your physical family is your spiritual family, God’s family, because they will last forever! The family we have here on Earth is a wonderful gift from God, but they are fragile and temporary, often broken by divorce, distance, growing old, and inevitably, death. Our spiritual family- our relationship to other believers – will continue throughout eternity; more permanent than our blood relationships.
“The Purpose Driven Life” describes the benefits of being in God’s family. Consider what the Bible says: ”Since you are His child, everything He has belongs to you.” Galatians 4:7b. When you are born into God’s family, you receive the family name, the family likeness, family privileges, family intimate access and the family inheritance. The New Testament gives much emphasis to the “inheritance” that we receive! No only does God promise to “meet all our needs” but we receive the “riches… of His grace…kindness…patience…glory…wisdom…power…and mercy.” In eternity we will inherit even more.
What does this mean to all of us? To me, it is what Paul said, “I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance He has given to His people.” Ephesians 1:18b. It is not what we have on Earth, but what we are building up in Heaven for eternity. Our eternal inheritance is protected, priceless and pure. The eternal inheritance is what we should be looking forward to, not our earthly retirement.
We identify with God’s family by baptism. In families that are very close and connected, there is no shame in being identified as part of that family, even if your name is Jim Smith! In God’s family, baptism identifies you as a member His family, it is part of the second purpose for your life – participating in the fellowship of God’s family. Baptism symbolizes death to your old life, declares your faith in Christ, shares His death and resurrection and announces your new life in Christ and your inclusion in God’s family. Baptism is a physical picture of a spiritual truth, representing what happened the moment God brought you into His family. The Bible tells us, ”Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ’s body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13.
The Bible also says, “Jesus and the people He makes holy all belong to the same family. That is why He isn’t ashamed to call them His brothers and sisters.” Hebrews 2:11. Wow. That carries the amazing truth that we are part of our Creator’s holy family, and because Jesus made you holy, God is proud of you! It is most humbling to me that God chose us to be in His family, and is the greatest privilege we could receive. Remember that when you feel down, or unimportant, or insecure, remember to whom you belong!
Next: What Matters Most.
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