I Am Reborn

To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

John 1:12-13

Eric

Have you ever heard someone say, “We are all God’s children”? It is true that God created and loves every single person, but according to the Scripture, you must be reborn to become God’s child. Our sin—our failure to live as we should—separated us all from God, and believing in Jesus is the only way we are brought into a close relationship with God—a relationship so close we become His children. When you believed in Jesus and received Him as your Savior and Lord, He gave you the right to become His child. It was not a rebirth you could make happen because you could not forgive yourself or make yourself brand new. It was a rebirth God accomplished for you. When you believed in Him, He made you forever His.

You are now God’s son or daughter. He is your Father.

If you have a great earthly father, this is probably easier to understand. If you don’t have an earthly father or your earthly dad is absent, the concept of God as your Father may be harder to understand.

Author Warren Farrell coined the phrase “dad deprivation” about the pain some teenagers go through when their father is absent. The pain is common. If you have not been well-loved by an earthly dad, I am sorry. If you suffer the pain of being deprived of an earthly father, God promises to step in close. Psalm 68:5 (CSB) says: “God in his holy dwelling is a father of the fatherless and a champion of widows.” Because you now belong to Him, you are no longer fatherless.

Whether you have a good earthly father or not, your heavenly Father is never going to let you down. He is with you. He is never going to walk out. He is never going to take on too much responsibility at work and neglect you for a season. He is never going to be too busy for you. He is never going to stop providing for you. He is never going to change His mind about you. He is never going to just send Christmas gifts and fail to show up and actually be with you.

Eden

In the last decade both of my parents have lost their dads. As a teen, it’s a normal thing to go through the loss of a grandparent. For me, watching my parents grieve over their fathers’ deaths was hard. They both had such special relationships with their dads. Dads have a huge impact on our lives. When I was little, I would try so hard to impress my dad with how I performed. Whether it was a swim meet, a spelling test, or how I could do more push-ups than the boys, I wanted to make my dad proud. I am one of the lucky ones, because I have a great dad. He has shown my sister and me Jesus’ love in the ways he has loved us.

If you don't have a good dad or he is absent from your life, I am so sorry. But I have great news! Just as much as a father figure impacts us as teens, God is an even greater Father whose love impacts us even more. My dad says, “God is not the reflection of your earthly father, but the perfection of your earthly father.” Earthly fathers are good and sometimes even great, but God the Father is perfect. When we receive Jesus into our lives, we are reborn as His children. There couldn’t be a better Father. He chooses us, loves us, forgives us, protects us, and is always with us. As a teen, parents are so vital for our growth and well-being. Dads are especially important. Our earthly dads and father figures are reflections of our heavenly Father’s love for us. As teens, we need our dads in our lives, and we need our heavenly Father even more!

Reflection & Discussion Time

• What characteristics do teenagers long for in an earthly father? How do you see those characteristics in your heavenly Father?
• What would change about tomorrow if you remembered throughout the day that God is your Father?