Adopted: Part I - Getting To Know You

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, 'Abba! Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God."
—Romans 8:14-16

We have heard that God desires relationship with us. I have found that it can be a little overwhelming to ponder what it means to be "in relationship" with the God of the universe. After all, God has many different titles and roles in which he could be operating. He is the Lord of Hosts (a military term), he is the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, he is the Lord of Lords, he is Abba Father, he is the Lord our provider, the question is, who is God when God wants to be close to me?

I often feel like the four children in C.S. Lewis’ classic tale The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, as they were told of the Great King of that realm, Aslan the lion. One of the children, being nervous to meet a lion, asked if he was quite safe, to which their host, Mr. Beaver answered, "Safe? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good."

The thought of vulnerability in the face of such power can be a little frightening to me. I personally only want to visit lions at the zoo, never in an open field. Likewise, many of us prefer to meet God only at church, where bulletins and songs can serve as shields to protect us from the full power of God's might. But to encounter God in only safe conditions that we control, is to miss out on the fullness of who
God is.

Only through vulnerability and surrender to God's control do we find what it means to be loved. Only through letting go of our own need to control will we learn what it means to be led by the spirit of God. Only by letting God be God will we find out what it means to be children of God.

For those, like me, who are frightened by the thought of relinquishing control, let me encourage you. He isn’t safe, but he’s Good.

Homework this week: Consider what it may look like for God to have complete control in your life for one day. How would things be different?

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