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Posts Tagged ‘Are we all children of God?’

FROM CHILDREN TO FAMILY MEMBERS

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 18, 2024| 1 Comment »

British comedian and atheist Jimmy Carr asks a good question and, since you might be asking the same thing, I appreciate the opportunity to answer, .

First of all, as a follower of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God), I believe God created every person who ever was, is and will be. So yes, we are His children.

But there’s a difference between being His children and being in His family. And we are definitely NOT all in His family. You might ask, quite, rightly, why not?? Because it’s not an automatic thing. We’ve all separated ourselves from God’s family because of the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do.

In other words, we’ve put ourselves ahead of our creator. We’ve either declared He doesn’t exist, or we’ve forgotten about Him or we’ve made the shallow, ultimately meaningless priorities of this world our main focus.

The results of this error are sadly obvious: broken families, addictions, crime, human trafficking and so much more. Jesus followers like me are not immune to this error; sometimes, I forget about God and mess up quite spectacularly. Just ask my very forgiving wife.

So what’s the solution? How can we be adopted into God’s family? The answer is simple: follow Jesus. Read the four original-source biographies of His physical life on Earth (they’re simply called the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, named after their reputed authors). Investigate the claims Jesus makes about Himself and His Father.

Once you do that, my hope and prayer is you’ll come to understand who God is, who you are and who Jesus is. Then, as you apologize for all the wrong things you’ve done and the right things you’ve failed to do, and pledge to make Jesus your priority, God will welcome you into His family. And that will change your life NOW and for all eternity.

One of Jesus’s earliest and most influential followers, a missionary named Paul, put it this way: “You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone.”

Got questions? Things you don’t understand? Then keep searching. Or, email me (frankdmking@gmail.com) and I’ll do my imperfect best to help.

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FROM A CREATION TO A FAMILY MEMBER

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 18, 2020| 2 Comments »

While I was being driven from work to pick up my car at the auto repair shop, the shuttle driver kept me fascinated explaining his research into family ancestry.

I can identify with him because while I haven’t done any ancestry research, I still place importance on my family’s past, present and future. I really like that sense of belonging.

Maybe you’ve heard it said that we all belong to what some spiritual folks call “God’s family”. Or maybe they’ve told you we’re all “children of God”. If you believe in a creator, that probably makes sense and has a sweet appeal.

But is it true? From the perspective of my faith – I follow Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s Son – we are all God’s creations. Beyond the procreating actions of our parents, serious Jesus followers believe none of us would be here without God.

However, that doesn’t mean we’re in His family. Consider this: many of us know of someone whose family has a ‘black sheep’ – a person who, through their awful behaviour, has been kicked out of the family. They’re cut off from communication and banned from family events.

Now consider the character of God. Whether you agree or not, He’s perfect. How can I advance this? Well, let me quote Jesus: “you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Note what Jesus is saying:

  1. This is the character of God.
  2. We must also be perfect in order to meet God’s standard and, after our earthly lives end, spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

The reality is, we’ve all fallen horribly short of God’s standard. An ancient prophet wrote, “It is your sins that separate you from your God. He turns away from you when he sees them.” So we’re all black sheep who are NOT in God’s family.

But there’s good news here. God WANTS YOU in His family. In fact, He’s so driven by that desire that He sent Jesus to earth to show us how to live and then to sacrifice His life to make up for all the wrong things we’ve done and all the right things we’ve failed to do.

If you give this serious thought, you’ll realize Jesus is a life-changing gift of love and mercy. All you have to do is accept it. And if you do that, with thoughtful sincerity, God sees you as He sees Jesus: perfect in every way.

Furthermore, if you accept the gift of Jesus, declare Him to be your Lord and Saviour, then you become more than God’s creation. You become part of His family. Then He comes into your life and starts to make you more like Jesus.

Interested? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

 

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