Dad Really Loves Me – Today’s Family Devotion

Dad Really Loves Me

Bible Reading: Romans 8:14-17

His Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children. Romans 8:16

Addy had never known what it was like to have a stable home. Given up by her mom shortly after she was born, she had spent her whole childhood being shuffled from house to house. For the past two years she had lived in a group home, with an awe­some young couple as houseparents. That should have felt more like a family, but the kids who lived there were distant–like they knew they had no hope of finding a real family, and they were just waiting until they turned eighteen so they could leave.

Then the Sampsons came into her life. Addy had always tried to be the perfect child, one that a couple would want to adopt. Yet for the first time in her life, Addy didn’t have to wish she was different or struggle to fit someone’s mold. The Sampsons actually wanted a thirteen-year-old girl. They loved her just the way she was. And right before Christmas, they made her a permanent part of their family by adopting her.

As Christians, we belong to God and his family. Who could enjoy a bigger sense of belonging than God’s kids? The apostle John wrote, “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!” (1 John 3:1). Something to notice: As soon as John wrote the words “his chil­dren,” he must have paused as that truth hit him, because he tops off the thought with an exclamation. If John were here today, he might say it this way: “Whoa! We really are God’s children! That’s incredible!”

Maybe you’re thinking, “But we’re only adopted. It’s not like we’re real children in God’s family.” Do you think the fact that God has simply adopted us makes us sec­ond-class kids?

Listen to how my longtime friend Dick Day views adoption. After having be­come the parents of five biological children, Dick and his wife, Charlotte, went to Ko­rea and adopted a sixth child, Jimmy. Dick says, “That little guy, Jimmy, is my son. He has the same rights and privileges as our other five children. He has the same access to our inheritance, our time, and our love.” And you know what? Jimmy sees himself just as much as Dick and Charlotte’s child as do his siblings.

Our adoption as God’s child is a truth worth getting excited about. We can say these words with enthusiasm and awe: “Whoa! I really am a child of God! I really be­long!”

TALK: In your own words tell how you feel about being adopted by God.

PRAY: Father, thank you for making us your children.

ACT: Take time today to pull out a blank sheet of paper and write a letter to your Father—your heavenly Father. Tell him what it means to you to be his child.