Him, and we have a right relationship with God the Father because of the finished work of God the Son, Jesus Christ, through His death and resurrection. Romans 8 says:
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
We have to guard against the tendency to live on a level below what God has provided for us. Yes, we are human, but we have been regenerated and energized by the Spirit. We are called to put off the old and put on the new - created to walk in righteousness, holiness, and victory. We don't have to settle for less, when God's Word teaches us we have so much more. We are children of God, we have a new identity in Christ, and the degree to which we embrace that can have a dramatic effect on what our lives look like.
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It is so important, and life-giving, that we know who we are in Jesus Christ - what God has done in making us new creations in Him. Consider these words from Ephesians 1:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
There's a new member of the animal family at the Hubbs family ranch in California, and he has gained a bit of attention on Twitter recently.
17-year-old Shaylee Hubbs rescued a calf, who is now around 2 months old. According to a UPI.com story, the calf, who has been named, Goliath, was small and weak when the family first took him in, but apparently Goliath now believes he fits right in with the rest of the family's pets.
The story says that Hubbs told ABC News: "I'm pretty sure he thinks he's a dog...He was raised with our three dogs, and he's around them every day. They chase and play together, he watches how they eat their dog food and drink water from their bowls and copies them and he even lays in their dog beds. He even loves scratches on his neck around his ear."
Goliath has developed a special relationship with the family's Great Dane, Leonidas, who has taught Goliath tricks such as sneaking into the house to have a seat on the couch. And Leonidas has shown affection for Goliath by licking him on the face and trying to nudge him to stand up. She added, "He would lick the little cow on the face and try to nudge him to stand up," she told ABC. "He would lay down with the sick, little cow for hours just to keep him company."
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
There's a new member of the animal family at the Hubbs family ranch in California, and he has gained a bit of attention on Twitter recently.
17-year-old Shaylee Hubbs rescued a calf, who is now around 2 months old. According to a UPI.com story, the calf, who has been named, Goliath, was small and weak when the family first took him in, but apparently Goliath now believes he fits right in with the rest of the family's pets.
The story says that Hubbs told ABC News: "I'm pretty sure he thinks he's a dog...He was raised with our three dogs, and he's around them every day. They chase and play together, he watches how they eat their dog food and drink water from their bowls and copies them and he even lays in their dog beds. He even loves scratches on his neck around his ear."
Goliath has developed a special relationship with the family's Great Dane, Leonidas, who has taught Goliath tricks such as sneaking into the house to have a seat on the couch. And Leonidas has shown affection for Goliath by licking him on the face and trying to nudge him to stand up. She added, "He would lick the little cow on the face and try to nudge him to stand up," she told ABC. "He would lay down with the sick, little cow for hours just to keep him company."
A picture of Goliath on a couch has received over 35,000 likes on Twitter and has been retweeted over 60,000 times.
I would say it's not clear where this may be going for little Goliath - maybe he will live out his true identity in the bovine class, or just keep doing the canine thing, at least in action, not biology.
This heartwarming story does contain some encouragement for us and even challenge today.
For one thing, for the Christian, we can be reminded of our true identity, as well as how the way we regard ourselves and the environment in which we live can either keep us on course in the pursuit of action consistent with that identity or get us off course in that pursuit. If we don't have an accurate appreciation of who Christ has made us to be, then we are shackled in living the type of life that He would have us to live. If we recognize that we have His new nature and that we have been made more than conquerors in Him, then that will drastically alter our viewpoint toward sin, righteousness, and a host of issues. Who we are - and who we believe we are - will determine how we live.
In a more sobering sense, there are those that want to deny their biological makeup and pursue a course that is contrary to who God made them. We are finding these days that people, because of the pain of their environment or deception related to their identity, are prone to deny who God has made them, rejecting the beauty of who they were created to be and pursuing other, more troubling paths. As the church, we have to offer hope, healing, and truth to help people who are having gender identity struggles to accept themselves as who God created them to be.
Finally, we have to realize the human tendency to adapt to our circumstances and our communities. If people are befriended or embraced by others in a positive, affirming way in the love of Christ, that can provide enormous security. Our living out our true identity in Christ can play a major role in helping other people discover that. Goliath is a cow who thinks he's a dog - he received affirmation by those around him and took up their characteristics. May we remember that we are children of God and be careful about thinking otherwise.
Finally, we have to realize the human tendency to adapt to our circumstances and our communities. If people are befriended or embraced by others in a positive, affirming way in the love of Christ, that can provide enormous security. Our living out our true identity in Christ can play a major role in helping other people discover that. Goliath is a cow who thinks he's a dog - he received affirmation by those around him and took up their characteristics. May we remember that we are children of God and be careful about thinking otherwise.
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