“Acknowledge that the LORD is God!
He made us, and we are His.
We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.”
Psalm 100:3
When I was in the fourth grade, I joined the kids choir at First Baptist Church in my little town. We practiced every Wednesday afternoon and eventually our small group signed up for a church choir competition, although I’m sure it wasn’t called that. Christians don’t compete, we “encourage” one another on to excellence. Anyway, the verse above was the opening to our worship song. Actually, we quoted all 5 verses of this well known chapter.
A couple of weeks ago, I came across this chapter again and then wrote down that middle line. “He made us, and we are His.” Let that roll over your mind for a bit. Maybe write it down. I apologize for not getting too deep this week, but often the simplicity of the Word is what astounds us.
As I considered this verse, I began to answer questions with it. Let me give you an example.
Q. Why should I obey God?
A. He made us, and we are His.
Or,
Q. Why does He love me?
A. He made us, and we are His.
You can try it.
Q. Why am I so fill in the blank?
Yes, “He made us, and we are His.“
You catch my drift? Once I got started, the questions kept coming:
Why should I not fear satan?
He made us, and we are His.
Why should I not fear…period?
He made us, and we are His.
Do I have a purpose?
He made us, and we are His.
Does anyone really love me?
He made us, and we are His.
Do I have any skills or talents?
He made us, and we are His.
My husband has left me for another.
He made us, and we are His.
My parents always favored my sister over me.
He made us, and we are His.
Again, another promotion has passed me by.
He made us, and we are His.
Really nothing compares to those 7 sweet words. He made me and I belong to Him. Again, this sounds like a lesson you teach your toddlers, but I couldn’t get away from it. Sometimes our exhaustive studies of Hebrew roots and Greek translations are just that – exhaustive. The Lord invites us back to the simple promises that brought us to Him in the first place.
He made us, and we are His.
Some time back, I had listened to a sermon and it pierced me. I could barely raise my head when it was over. The conviction of its words seemed to pinpoint past the excuses and facade and dealt with things I didn’t even realize were there. I needed some time alone with God. I headed to the park. We have a nice walking path and the Lord had me quote this scripture over and over as I circled the park for nearly an hour.
“I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine…”
Song of Solomon 6:3
Now that might sound a little obsessive, but as I repeated its’ truth, it went in deeper and deeper. I had repented, the fog of sin had lifted, and now He was assuring me of His never failing love. I belonged to Him. I am my beloved’s, no matter what threats or accusations are assailed at me.
“But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.”
John 1:12
Children of God!! We are not those generic children-of-the-world that God created, therefore called “children of God”. No, we believed in Him and accepted Him and have been given such rights as a child of God. God is Our Father. No matter what the devil may tell you this week, this is the truth.
You do believe in Him and have accepted Him, right? If not, there is no better time than this to be adopted. It’s as easy as believing that Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, and died to pay for your sins. He came back to life three days later, to show victory over satan and death. He now sits on the right side of God and prays (intercedes) for us. Just ask for adoption into the family of God and start living like a child of GOD would live. All of your mistakes and sins in the past will be forgiven when you ask, too. You start out brand new. Yes, there’s much more to the relationship, but God gives us a lifetime to learn about Him and His many benefits.
“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”
Ephesians 1:5
All of this happens because of Jesus. Ironic, because He is the one and only begotten son of our Father. From His lofty position in the Family, He brings us into adoption. His authority and love from the Father is not threatened by us because there is no end to either. He can freely share because the Father has freely shared with Him. We just bathe in the benefits.
So, welcome to the family if you are just getting started. Don’t forget His many benefits, if you have been here a long time. Repeat those early promises if you need the reminder. John reminded the Christians of his day.
“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!”
1 John 3:1
