DEVOTION - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2012

DEVOTION – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2012

“The power of adoption”

BY

PASTOR BOB COY

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself… Ephesians 1:3-5 (NKJV)

During biblical times, adoption was often the only difference between an existence of endless enslavement and a life of liberty.

If you were a minor who had been orphaned, you were typically forced into making a trade. The trade was this: You would give up your life to serve a household, and they would provide for your basic needs. For the vast majority of orphaned children, that was the simple and cruel reality they lived under until the day they died.

However, there was a possible exception. Under Roman law, a homeowner could adopt a child, entitling them to the rights and privileges of the other family members within that home. Consequently, that child would have a share in the family inheritance. Not only that, but once a child was adopted, he or she could never be disowned by their new family. Once adopted, that child instantly gained a future hope and a sense of assurance and security that non-adopted children could only dream of.

That's the cultural context we should be aware of when we read about our being adopted by God in Ephesians 1:3-5. Adoption meant everything in that day and age, and the Bible is telling us that we've spiritually gone from a place of unending bondage to a place of unprecedented blessing. But notice what secures this condition for us:

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26 NKJV)

It's faith that introduces us into God's family. By placing our trust and confidence in what Jesus Christ has done for us, we are brought into and become members of His household. Not only that, we're also given a share in God's inheritance which means we have a hope and future that's absolutely secure.

Let's not forget or lose touch with the fact that faith, in addition to its many other benefits, has made us adopted sons and daughters of God!