I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior when I was a child. I understood the meaning of sin in a simple way: the things we did that hurt people and hurt God. And I certainly knew I had already committed enough of them to separate me from a Holy God.
My Sunday school teacher explained that God loved us, but our sins separated us from Him and there was nothing we could do to restore that relationship. I was horrified, and it was one of the bleakest moments of my young life. I felt the separation and it was terrifying. Then the teacher delivered the good news, the best news:
For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Jesus
died for my sins and provided a way for me to be reconciled to God. I gave my
life to God that day and have never regretted the decision. I gained an eternal
father, and I became his child.
Yet
to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right
to become children of God. John 1:12)
In
the busyness of life it is easy to forget the simple truth that we are children
of God. But when a monster, like cancer, pokes its head out, it makes us want
to run into the embrace of our loving father. And God waits with open arms.
We
are never alone. We have a God, a Heavenly Father, who does not sleep or
slumber. He is ever-present, He knows our deepest thoughts, He knows our
condition inside and out, He knows our past, and He knows our future. He loves
us, eternally. Being a child of God starts in this lifetime and continues into
the next. What an immense comfort. Our Father’s arms comfort us in the “here
and now” and in the “then and forever after.”
If
you do not know God as your Father, or His Son, Jesus, as your Savior, I
encourage you to take the time to get to know them. Read the Bible for yourself.
Start in the book of John in the New Testament, and find a Christian you
respect to meet with you and pray with you.
If
you are a child of God, take this time to thank Him. He is faithful. He will
not leave his children uncared for, and He loves you through this trial.
How
great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called
Children of God! (1 John 3:1)
"Child of God" is an excerpt from Sara's book: The Bald-Headed, Tattooed, Motorcycle Mama's Devotional Guide for Cancer Warriors and the People that Love Them, Copyright 2017.
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Sara Nelson O'Brien is the author of
and
Available on:
Amazon.com
213 Chestnut Street, Oneonta, NY
1 Harry L. Drive, Johnson City, NY.
All photos are courtesy of pixabay.com
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