I John III
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. (1 John 3:1)
Adoption
To be clear, I did not doubt my parents’ love of me. But at times I envied my younger, adopted brother. Because our family decided to adopt, purposefully made plans for adoption, and in a sense, chose my brother to be in our family.
That is a particular kind of love.
My family joked about the idea that I, on the other hand, was accidental.
Yes, I was loved.
But the idea of being sought, desired, planned for, and intentional is amazingly rich.
And we, Christians, are first and foremost God’s children NOT because we were attractive, valuable, popular, cool, effective, worthy, smart, wise, righteous, or desirable.
We might be those things.
But we are God’s children because He gave us the relationship. He gave us the title. He gave us the love.