July 17 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

In a time when so many families are falling apart, we thank God for the many Christian parents who adopt children.

An adopted child has the full rights of a natural son or daughter. To a Christian family, such an adopted child is a constant reminder of what all Christians are in God's family—by grace and by rights.

All of us have become members of God's family by his grace. We have no natural rights. Only Jesus Christ is God's natural Son. We are what we are by God's love through Jesus.

Now we may—and must—behave as God's children in every way. We must unlearn certain things like "living according to our sinful nature." That's the way people outside of God's family live. Living this way is not becoming for those who call God their Father.

Unlearning the old ways goes faster when we learn the new way. The more we concentrate on learning the new way of God's household, the easier it is to drop the old habits. The more we love God, the less we care for sin.

In an adoptive family, the new spirit in the child is developed by the love that flows from the parents to their child. Likewise, the source of our conversion power comes from our Father himself. It is the Father's Spirit who teaches us to conform to Jesus. That's not our natural way of living, but the Spirit of God overpowers our lives with his love. And then things melt in us, and other things grow in us.

Sometimes we still find it hard to believe that God has really adopted us to be his children. But the Spirit assures us. He teaches us to thank God as our Father for all God is and all God has given.

The Spirit and the Word even tell us that everything Jesus has is now ours. Why? Because we have the full rights of sons and daughters in God's family.

REFLECTIONS

What does being an adopted child of God mean to you? Reflect and then give thanks to your Father.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.