Week 7, Day 5: Heaven, the Blessed Adoption Agency

How great is the love the father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:1-2

We are God's children, not just certain people, but everyone, and not just when we are good, but when our faults come out as well. I couldn't help but wonder if God's sees me the way I see my own children? I love them unconditionally. Whether they are an angel one day, or whether they are so defiant that I feel like it's pushing me over the edge - I still love them with every fiber of my being. So this is how God feels about us - he loves us unconditionally because we are his children.

I have spent my whole life trying to please my father. As an adult, I'm still trying to, and sometimes that really frustrates me because I feel that nothing I do will ever be good enough. There have been a few times that I have received his praise, and boy have I cherished every moment of it. This is how I should be with my heavenly Father, my creator. I should be eager to please at all times. Knowing that we are his children should encourage us to live as Jesus did - a pure life.

And speaking of fathers. God disciplines us just as we would discipline our own children. This is an ongoing battle in our house with our almost 3 year old son, and I praying that I am disciplining appropriately. Hebrews 10:10-11 says "Our fathers discipline us for a little while as they thought best;; but God disciplines us for our good, we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Can I just say, AMEN!!! Discipline is SO hard, but knowing that you're doing it for their own good is what helps me push through. This is where I have to do that reverse thinking again... God disciplines us so that we may have righteousness and peace - what a gift and blessing!

Do you feel God is in the midst of disciplining you right now? If so, how? If not now, then can you pinpoint a time where to did feel he was disciplining you?