You are the children of the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 14:1)

In keeping with the theme discussed in the previous devotional, let us expound more on who are considered to be God’s children and who are not. In a broad way of thinking, all of mankind are “God’s children,” and yet at the same time, Scripture makes a clear distinction between His people and the heathen. For instance, during their stay in Egypt — and this is especially true during the plagues — God Himself differentiates between His people, Israel, and the Egyptians. In fact, throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, it is God who designates Israel as His people, declaring them to be set apart from the nations.

However, lest anyone should think that DNA alone defines God’s people, the Messiah made it clear to some of His contemporaries that they had begun to think too highly of themselves in this regard. When some began to boast of an exclusive status due their ancestral connection to Abraham, Messiah said, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.” (John 8:39). In short, even those among the children of Israel weren’t necessarily considered to be children of God. In this particular example, their haughtiness contributed to their unwillingness to believe Him which, in turn, brings us to our main point for the day.

Those who are children of the Most High are those who know Him, who love Him and who walk in obedience to His instructions, just as Abraham did. Paul said that all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God (Romans 8:14), and to be led by the Spirit is to be “subject to the law of God” (Romans 8:7). Again, the issue is about who is spiritually minded and in the proper relationship with the Almighty, not necessarily who one’s earthly mother and father is. And with that, we’ll let John put the exclamation point on the topic. In the beginning of his gospel he said:

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13) 

So then, let all those who have received Him wholeheartedly rejoice knowing that you are children of God, and as such, can place your confidence in the hope that He has prepared room for you in the Father’s House.

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill 

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