Richard Foster wrote once of a father walking through a mall with his two-year-old son.  The child was cranky; he kept whining and wriggling and complaining.  The father struggled to remain patient.  He scooped up his little two-year-old grumbler, held him tight to his chest, and began to sing an impromptu love song.  None of the words rhymed.  He sang it off-key, but as best as he could, he shared his heart: “I love you.  I’m so glad you’re my boy.  You make me laugh.”  From store to store the father kept going, words not rhyming, notes off-key.  His son relaxed, captivated by this strange and wonderful song.

Finally, when they had finished, the dad went to the car, buckled his son in the car seat, and his son raised his arms and lifted up his head.  “Sing it to me again, Daddy.  Sing it to me again.” *

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).

Because of our sin, we are orphans - destitute and doomed.

But God loves us and wants us to be His children.  So, He paid the price for our adoption, and the price was very, very high.

The price for our adoption was the death of God’s Son Jesus.  He died on the cross for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

“This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10 NIV).

Adoption into God’s family brings all of the blessings of being a child of God (Ephesians 1:3) including salvation from sin and eternal life (John 3:16; Romans 6:23).

God desires to adopt us into His family, and He will, if we will accept His offer through our trusting obedience.

Here is the adoption process: Embrace the love of God by placing your faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from your sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  The loving Father will continue to cleanse His faithful child from sin as he or she walks in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).

It’s the most beautiful love song ever sung.  Become a child of God so that you can join in the refrain by Francis H. Rowley:

Yes, I'll sing the wondrous story

Of the Christ who died for me,

Sing it with the saints in glory,

Gathered by the crystal sea.

— David A. Sargent

*Taken from John Ortberg, Love Beyond Reason (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998).

David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

Archived issues of Living Water can be viewed and accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org