Feeling like “orphans”
Nov 11th, 2009 by ljkim
Jesus’ message is that Sinners like us can become adopted into God’s family… (This is why he taught us to pray saying “Father…in heaven”) The problem is that once we’re adopted we often still think and act (or react) like orphans. As an orphan (trying to survive in Jesus’ day) everything depended on what YOU did… It’s your skill and wisdom and savvy that keeps you afloat. But as a Son or Daughter of God, your care depends on your Father in heaven who loves you…
Now depending on your mindset, when something happens today there are two ways you can react… You can react like an orphan – as though you still had to do what you need to do just to survive – OR you can respond like a son or daughter of God… So, for example, if you were faced with criticism: someone points out your failure… maybe you become defensive… “Who do you think you are telling me what to do?” Why do you react that way? Because as an orphan your self worth (along with your dignity and reputation) depends on your work and your performance; and therefore you cannot afford to have your work challenged… But, if you are a Son or Daughter of the Almighty, you can relax, be genuinely open to the criticism as an opportunity to improve… Why? Because your identity and worth are safe…out of harms way.
Or what if you run into a series of failures or bad luck: you could become discouraged and depressed thinking “why is this happening to me?” But if you’re a child of God, you can be optimistic knowing it’s still in God’s hands.
See, if you’re an orphan and you lose all the money in your pocket it very well may be the end of the world for you. But if you have a loving Father, even if you lose everything you have – there’s no reason to flip out… Imagine a child crying as though it were the end of the world because he lost his toy… You might see them sometimes on their way to school. “Calm down honey, daddy will get you a new one.” THIS is probably the main thing God wants from you right now. To believe… Because many of the other good things God has planned for you flows out from this…
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