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.
