Spiritual Family

"Then he pointed to his disciples and said, 'Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!'" -Matthew 12:49-50
 
Each of us has a family we were born into, or adopted by. We didn't choose our family; Some of us enjoy and have kinship in the family we were born with, and some of us don't. For many people, the relationships in our families are bittersweet.

But, thankfully when we are born again, we are adopted into an entirely new family! We are grafted into this family due to our faith. (Romans 11:23) However, being a part of this family has it's own challenges which can result in our character development, learning, and self-discovery - if we let it. These types of relationships can feel even more like family than our "natural" family. That is because true kingdom relationship is born out of God's original intention for family - it is birthed out of His love for mankind.

Some people just starting out in their faith might adopt or be adopted by a "spiritual" mother or father who mentors them in their faith. Relationships like this are important to have, especially if we've had difficult nuclear family ties. In the books Timothy, Titus, and Philemon we hear of this spiritual fatherhood bond.

"I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison." -Philemon 1:10
 
Do you have people in your life that you consider to be "spiritual" family? We need these types of relationships to stay connected and grow as the body of Christ.

Adopted

"The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" - Romans 8:15

Enric Siva is a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. He and his family lived on a farm there, but during the raiding of their home, Enric's father and some of his siblings were murdered. Just 6 years old at the time, Enric and his brother escaped into the jungle and lived there for 3 months, surviving on fruits and vegetables for food. Eventually, they could not find any more food to eat, but found a Red Cross camp where they discovered that their mother was alive.

Through an unfortunate turn of events however, their mother was also killed and Enric and his brother were left to survive on the streets, doing small odd jobs to survive. Enric's story is incredible, because even in his struggle he found Christ while living on the streets and began to attend a church there in his town.

A widow with 5 children of her own discovered Enric and asked him about his life. She took him under her wing and asked him to stay with her and her five children. It was here where Enric was provided shelter, food, and clothing, and did not have to live on the street any more. God did a healing work through the church from all of the trauma Enric had endured as a young child.

While he was living on the street, Enric discovered a love for music and was given a guitar to learn how to play. Miraculously, he won a national singing competition in Rwanda, much like American Idol in the U.S., which put him in the limelight. Today, Enric speaks and performs, advocating for marginalized children.

Although Enric's story is heart-wrenching, it is an amazing testimony to God's love in how He provided for Enric throughout his journey. Enric attributes his redemption story to Jesus Christ and hopes that others will discover spiritual adoption through our Heavenly Father.

You can find more about Enric Sifa on his website at http://enricsifa.com.

A Father's Heart

"Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.'" Galatians 4:6 NIV

Once when I worked for a high-end department store I was helping a young lady and her father with a dress for prom. I had a dress on hold for her, but when she came in to try it on we realized it was going to be too big. Both she and her father were so sad, but then, I found one dress hiding in another place, in exactly her size! Both the dad and daughter were overjoyed, and it was gorgegous; white satin with beautiful butterflies of all different colors all over the dress, and sparkling silver sequins dotted throughout the bodice.
 
When she tried it on, she looked fantastic. It seemed as though the dress had been made especially for her. As she turned to go back into the dressing room, brimming with excitement, her dad began to tell me of his shopping adventures with his four little girls. Ever since they were young he would take his daughters shopping. He remembered his youngest, the daughter he was shopping with now, trying on clothes when she was just a toddler, and he reminisced about how people would look at her, thinking she was just the cutest thing.
 
I was struck by his open affection and big heart. What also struck me was how down to earth these people were - both he and his daughter. It made me think of our relationship with our heavenly Father. Sometimes our earthly fathers may not be able to give us everything they want to give us. Sometimes we ask for things that aren't very good for us. Sometimes we may not have the best relationship with our "earlthy" fathers. But our Father in heaven does want the very best for us. He loves us so much! Can you imagine what it must be like to be God's son or daughter in heaven? If this man had such a big heart for his four girls, how much bigger is God's heart for us?
 
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:9-12 NIV
 
God is a God of the unlimited - unlimited love, unlimited acceptance, unlimited resources, unlimited everything. In Him there is no need. Ask him to be your perfect father today, to be everything you missed, and everything you will ever need. Ask him to be your perfect Father today.

Slaves vs. Sons (or Daughters)

"And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, 'Abba, Father.'  Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.  And since you are his child, God has made you his heir."  -Galatians 4:21-31
 
Have you ever felt like a servant or a slave, instead of a son or daughter?  I worked as a server for a while in high school and also in college in order to make ends meet.  It is gruesome work!  Working in the restaurant industry requires working nights and weekends, and doing heavy manual labor.  During the time I worked as a server I was also working through an issue of unworthiness I had in my life.  I had never felt worthy of anything good.

It was during this time that God was showing me that I had been adopted by Him.  There was nothing I could do to "prove" myself to Him or make Him love me any more than He already did.  My working and toiling and striving didn’t amount to anything more than sweat rolling off my brow.  What did matter, was an acceptance of the love that God already had for me.  I had to re-train my brain to accept this love and live in "a spirit of adoption" versus living in the rejection I experienced in my home life growing up.

The writer of Galatians describes this transition from "slave" to "son".   He talks about the difference between Abraham’s two sons - the illegitimate one born out of selfish ambition (Ishmael) and the one born of promise, Isaac.  "And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac." Galatians 4:28

We can never become sons or daughters of God by acting like "Ishmael", always trying to prove ourselves. Instead, we need to have the attitude that we have been adopted by Him, and therefore He will withhold "no good thing" from us.  (Matt 7:11) We just receive His love, blessings, and grace, instead of trying to fend for ourselves.

Have you let God adopt you as His precious son or daughter today?