No Gift We Have Not Been GivenSample

Adopted

We are adopted by the God of the universe. He has become Father to us. “Father” is the Christian name for God. For us, God is Father, Abba, Daddy. In his classic book, Knowing God, J.I. Packer writes:

If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. ‘Father’ is the Christian name for God.

But maybe you’re thinking, I did not have a good model of a loving father. Maybe you didn’t. None of us had a perfect father, but all of us have an idea of fatherhood, and our idea may be by way of contrast, not comparison, with our human father. We all know what a good father is all about. God is your Father. He’s the most loving and wise Father imaginable. He’s the perfect Father.

What does it mean to call God “Father”?

• You are deeply loved by Father, deeply loved. He is committed to your welfare.
• He is strong. He can protect you, provide for you, and strengthen you. There is no wiser parent anywhere. Father can take care of you.
• He understands you completely. He knows you and cares about you. He is the only one who completely understands all that is in your heart. You are not alone in a vast, cosmic universe.
• You never have to be confused about who you are. You are a child of God. You are the Father’s adopted and much-loved child.

Adoption is the highest blessing of the gospel. Through it, you can call God “Father.”