Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord; do not touch anything unclean and I will welcome you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty.
2 Corinthians 6:17-18 HCSB

You may have heard it said, “We are all God’s children.” This is not true. To be called a child of God we must believe in Him. We must accept His Son as our Savior. We must love Him with all our hearts and be obedient to His commands. God loves us all and wants us to be His children, but He gives us free will to choose.

When we marry someone, we marry their family. When I married my husband, I saw his family as my family and I still do. I was pleased with the family I got through marriage. I also know my sister considers him to be a brother.

I know this is not always the case. I often hear people complain about their in-laws and even their biological family members. We can’t choose our blood relatives, but we can choose our adoptive family. We can believe in God as our heavenly Father. We can accept Christ as our Savior. We can be adopted into God’s family. Our Father is the King of Kings.

While it is awesome to be a child of the King of Kings, we should never allow ourselves to be prideful. We should humbly submit to Christ and always consider the needs of others above our own.

Once we are saved, we should want to help others be adopted into the family of God. We should lead a life of example. We are told in Ephesians 5:1 to be imitators of Christ. When we accept Christ as our savior, we become a new creature in Christ. The old sinful self has passed away.

At that point, it’s our job to help others be adopted into the family. It’s up to us to let our light shine through so those who are lost and dying can see a light that leads them to their Lord and Savior. It’s up to us to share our testimony, what God has done for us, and how great it is to be a part of His family.

As in any family, we have our jobs we need to do. God gives us each a gift to perform a job or to serve Him. We must not neglect to do this. We serve Him through serving in our church and our community and serving others.

Being in God’s family isn’t always easy. We will be persecuted. Our earthly family members may not be happy with who we have become. We will have trials and tribulations.

Being in God’s family also comes with privileges. He provides shelter, He shepherds us. He never leaves us alone; He walks with us through the fire and the flood.

We have no say so as to what family we are born into, but we can choose whose to be in God’s family. He wants to adopt us and take good care of us, but he allows us to choose.

I have been through tough times when I thank God that my earthly family provided the support they did. I am blessed to be a part of God’s family. I am so grateful that most of my earthly family and my in-laws are also a part of God’s family. They are not only blood relatives or relatives by marriage, but brothers and sisters in Christ.

Being a part of God’s family isn’t always easy. We are called to separate ourselves from the evil in this world. We are called to encourage others to be adopted into the family. We are called to live lives that represent the love, kindness, and mercy we receive from our heavenly Father.

The privileges far outweigh the pains. We will suffer, the Bible tells us this, but we will never suffer alone. We have God fighting for us. And we will have eternity in heaven with our family. How awesome is that?

Have a great day!