"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." John 3:16
"For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." Romans 8:15-17

I was thinking about these verses today and John 3:16 and I've heard them and read them but the magnitude of them really hasn't sunken into my heart. It's easy to shrug off these verses, but God giving His only Son for me because He is that loving is a deep mystery that I hope never ceases to amaze me. I stray so often from pure and simple devotion to Jesus even within spiritual disciplines. In all of my striving, I lose sight of grace sometimes. I come face to face with the fact that my strength is meager and my works are tainted but God is rich in mercy and loves me and has redeemed me not because I am at all good but because He is so gracious.

In some of my less self-absorbed moments, I realize that God is showing His abundant love for me right within my present circumstances. My pastor is like a father to me, he has taken me into his home, given me all the rights and privileges of a son and exemplified what it means to be a godly husband. The interesting thing about the word adoption in Romans 8 is that it means to be adopted into a family with all the rights of a full grown son. There is no distinction in treatment in this kind of adoption, the adopted child is now a son. I stand back in awe that God would not only give His Son for me but adopt me as His own. I told my pastor once, "you and your wife treat me as a son" and his response was "that's how we see you." What did I do to deserve to be invited into this man's home and treated with such love from him and his family? Absolutely nothing and I am a better man for the experience.

I have learned so much from my time living in his house. I have learned that discipline that isn't motivated by loving adoration is mere self-service. I have been learning to do because I am not try to perform to live up to some standards to prove who I am. I have learned that my works amount to nothing, that the only works that have value are the preappointed ones ordained by God for me in Christ. I have been learning that God loves me and delights in me because His Son lives in me. I echo what David said in Psalm 18: "Your gentleness makes me great." God loves me and I love Him, His love is deep, unfailing and cleanses me from every false way. God's love changes me, it motivates me, it creates love in me for others, it purges me from everything that would hinder me from knowing Him. His thoughts and love for me is intense, jealous because the Father loves me like He loves the Son. The Son delights in representing the Father and the Spirit guides us into all truth. God gives Himself entirely, He has given and gives of Himself entirely. He has given, gives every day and has blessings that He promises for the future.

All I can ask is: Lord, help me to love you in return. I don't want to neglect so great a salvation, purge me from every false way until Your character is perfected in me and all that You have won on the cross is worked into me. Forgive me for being ungrateful so often, thank You for Your mercy and patience. I pray that anyone who I know has never received the love of Christ in their hearts, for those who have not been adopted, that their hearts would be softened. I pray that we wouldn't choose friendship with the world and buy into a lie, that we wouldn't sell what Christ has payed for by His blood. I pray Lord that You would save us from the deception and wickedness that leads us away from Your pure love. Renew our minds and may we be found in You, unspotted and joyful. May we not despise Your gentle chastening, knowing that You are saving us from being condemned with this world. I thank You and I pray that by the grace of God that Jesus would be exalted among us and in us and we know the glory He desires to share with us. In Jesus' name, amen.