The concepts of Adoption and Sonship have the power to transform our lives and bring us closer to God. Part Two of “What It Means To Be A Child Of God” will Discuss how both these qualities affect our place in God’s family and examine the following questions,

What are Adoption and Sonship?
Whom can be Adopted into God's kingdom?
Do only men receive Sonship?
How do Adoption and Sonship make a difference in your relationship with God?

In part one, we discussed that being a Child of God results from believing in Jesus, receiving Him as Lord of your life, and repenting.

In Part Two, we studied how being adopted by God restores us to sonship, makes us heirs, and strengthens our relationship with God.

Now, let's explore the empowering concept of being co-heirs with Jesus. This divine relationship brings a shower of blessings into our lives. To illustrate this, let's delve into a beautiful story that perfectly captures this concept.

The opening verses of John’s Gospel encapsulate Jesus’s divinity, establishing Him as the engine of creation, existing outside of time. Then and now, He is the life and light of all humanity — never to be overcome by darkness.

God breathed His spirit into humankind and gave them free will. Exercising their free will, many failed to recognize their Creator. However,

…to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12–13

They’d been spared the Plagues that destroyed Egypt. In daylight, their path was marked by a Pillar of cloud, a visible sign of God’s presence and guidance. At night, a column of fire showed their way, symbolizing God’s protection and light in the darkness. They are Israel, God’s chosen people.

Wandering the desert, they murmured against God but experienced abundant grace and mercy:

Grief is an inevitable phase of life that we will experience and can never escape. At times, you’ll grieve, and other times, you’ll be a caring companion guiding a loved one through their necessary grief passage.

Walking with someone through the travails of grief isn’t for the faint of spirit. The task is daunting, and it will bring many inconveniences and challenge you emotionally.

However, suppose you come alongside a grieving person as a companion…

It was humiliating, but his son’s life was worth more than his reputation, so the father ran to his son. To prevent him from being stoned or, at best, exiled, the father had to reach him before the townspeople.

Back in the day, you’d get a couple of cents for a returned bottle, it was an easy way to make a little money, so I collected pop bottles.

One day, the Lord showed me those bottles were like people and collecting bottles is like sharing the Gospel or planting seeds in people’s hearts.

My family and I lived as missionaries in Maués, Amazonas, Brazil. There, we taught English as a Second Language and worked with an organization that shared the gospel as they drilled wells in regional indigenous communities.

The heat and humidity are brutal in the region. I always joke that the Amazon has four seasons: hot and hotter, plus wet and wetter

The words of Psalm 23:4a have brought comfort to countless believers, …though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…

However, with the implication that we will go through the valley of death, God’s comfort seems far off sometimes and begs the question, why must we struggle?