Adopt: To take by choice into a relationship; to take voluntarily a child of other parents as one’s own child.
I was not adopted by my parents, but maybe some of you were. I have seen many orphans, especially on my Russia and Mexico trips. I have seen many orphaned children who have no parents to love them, care for them and nurture them. What a blessing it is when a child is adopted in to a loving caring home. Do you recognize in your spirit that you have been adopted by God into his family? I think quite often we read Ephesians 4:1-5 and get hung up on theological issues of predestination and completely miss the point of the verse which is that we have been blessed with adoption into God’s family.
When we have received Jesus as our Savior we are adopted and become His son or daughter. This is an important theological point and one that must be cemented in our spirits. If we have not experienced the love of the Father in our hearts, or do not understand that we are adopted into His family, our perspective and outlook on God becomes warped. If we do not understand our adoption, we will tend to have a relationship with God that becomes a “master-servant” relationship rather than “Father-son” or “Father-daughter” relationship. We will approach God as a master to be obeyed rather than a Father whom we would never want to grieve because we know His unfailing love. We will live as slaves rather than sons and daughters.
If we have not experienced the love of the Father in our hearts, or do not understand that we are adopted into His family, our perspective and outlook on God becomes warped.
This understanding of adoption becomes key in our ability to live holy lives. If we see God as master we will see His commands to live a holy life as something we need to strive for, and we then end up fighting the flesh, to keep from doing what God directs us not to. However, if we understand and experience the love of Father God, we find ourselves desiring NOT to do those things, in order to maintain the relationship with Him.
I love my wife dearly, and there are things I don’t do or say simply because I know they would damage our relationship. I do not want to do anything that would harm that. That desire and drive, based on love, is stronger than the desires of my flesh. 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “the greatest of these is love.” Love is what conquers sin and flesh.