Imagine the following event: It is the afternoon of Christmas Eve. There is an undercurrent of anticipation in the orphanage! An obviously wealthy family has brought a large bag of presents for the orphans. It is a couple holding the hands of a little boy and a little girl. They wander from child to child, sharing some words of encouragement and Christmas greetings. The visitors’ children are rather shy in the unfamiliar situation, where almost all the attention is focused on them. But they manage, by holding hands with Mom and Dad.
Only one child of the orphanage withdraws, looking unhappy, showing his distain through scornful glances at the scene. He was not a “true” orphan, but his parents had left him, as two-year old, at the doors of the home, and disappeared. Now, at age eleven, the pain and despair had brought him to the point where he could no longer be controlled. There was constant trouble, and the directors of the home were at their wits’ end. As the result of his most recent rebellion and outburst of anger, which had led to an act of violence against another child, he was barred from participating in the Christmas celebration. Things just couldn’t continue this way!
Of course, the caring visitors wondered about the boy’s story. As the husband and wife looked at their sweet little family circle and considered the fate of this boy, they were deeply moved.
Later, during their Christmas Eve celebration, through the night, and into Christmas morning, one thought continued to pursue them: “What if we—or one of our children—had been in his place?” They discussed it repeatedly, fell to their knees, and prayed… and on Christmas evening they returned as a family to the orphanage and began the process of taking this unwanted, sin-burdened boy into their family. Henceforth, he was to belong to them and they to him. He would receive all the rights and all the love of a devoted family: a father, a mother, siblings; a room of his own, a home where he would always be welcome and belong—and much more besides. What a Christmas gift!
God’s Christmas gift
Doesn’t this picture represent a faint sketch of the great Christmas gift of God? God gives a lost world—which has sinned against Him and deserves only eternal condemnation—His best and dearest: His Son! And through Jesus’ death on the cross, everyone may receive forgiveness, salvation, and the right to become a child of God. John writes in his first letter, chapter three:
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God!”
But not only called, also become, for in the next verse John continues:
“Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
What does it mean to be a child of God?
1. I enter a Father–child relationship with God!
How does a good and loving father treat his child? He provides for it, protects it, disciplines it, fights for it, gives his life for it. He allows it constant access to him. He takes joy in his child and wants things to go well. He understands the child’s weaknesses and even its failures. He helps it up when it falls. He embraces it with his strong, loving arms. He regards it as his own possession, the apple of his eye, and much more.
2. To be a child of God means to belong to the family of God—His church.
As a child of God you are no longer an outsider, but have a place and a right within the family. It means to be a member of the family of God through the blood of Jesus and by grace. It means having many brothers and sisters with whom we may have fellowship and share life’s journey. It also means bearing the family name of the Father: Church of God. It means having a home: to dwell in the house of God. What wonderful privileges! And yet, how many despise these gifts of God and search for something else!
3. To be a child of God means to have an inheritance—and what an inheritance!
Peter writes: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3–5).
The heirs of a rich man look forward to inheriting his great possessions. But how immeasurable is the inheritance of God’s children! Infinitely great—far greater than we can imagine. And all of it undeserved, out of pure grace and love.
How great and exalted is the gift of God in His Son! Shall we not give Him our whole heart and life—our undivided love?
Ron Taron
Steinbach, MB
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