Gotcha Day

March 20, 2011 - Today, our family commemorates our "Gotcha Day," the day that Noah became a part of our family.  God creates families in different ways.  Some children are born within the body, others are born within the heart.  Adoption is an ancient practice.  In Paul's time, Roman citizens who did not have children to leave their inheritance to could adopt someone, who would then receive the full rights and privileges that a naturally born child would.  Roman citizens could even legally adopt one of their slaves for that purpose.  It is within that social context that Paul wrote the book of Romans.  The readers of the time would have understood the full significance of the transformation from slavery to sonship.

Romans 8:15-17,22-30

• 16 - When we were adopted into God's family, we were no longer slaves to sin, but children of God.  "Abba" is an intimate Aramaic expression for a father, much like we use the term "daddy."
• 17 - Through salvation in Christ, we have become full legal heirs, with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities associated with the relationship.
• 23 - We will receive the full inheritance when we stand before Him.
• 29 - We did not choose God, but like an adoptive parent, He chose us, and called us to come to Him.  When we respond, we receive the gift of right standing with him, not by our own righteousness, but through the righteousness imputed to us through Christ's shed blood.

Romans 9:25-26

• Through the generous gift of God's unmerited love, we have been accepted as His children.

Galatians 3:23-29

• 23 - Before Jesus, the law was our guardian, much like some children are in the state's custody before they are placed with their adoptive parents.  The former arrangement can provide for their safety and for their needs, but it cannot provide the love and nurturing that a parent can. 
• 26 - Faith in Christ is the way we respond to God's call to come to Him (as read in Romans 8:29).
• 29 - Part of God's promise to Abraham was that through His seed (Christ), all nations would be blessed.  Because we are united with Christ, and are His body, we share in that promise.

Galatians 4:1-7

• 2 - Within the cultural context, a "guardian" also sometimes served as a tutor as well as a protector, and was responsible for the child until they reached an age of maturity, at which time they could receive the inheritance.  Prior to that age, however, although the child had legal right to the inheritance, they could not use it until they were declared ready.

• 5 - God released us from slavery, from our guardians, through Jesus Christ, for the express purpose of adopting us as His very own children.
• 6 - The Holy Spirit enables us to approach God with the intimacy of a child, rather than the formality of a stranger.

Ephesians 1:3-14

• 4 - God's plan to include us in His family began long before we were ever born.
• 5 - Jesus Christ was the literal manifestation of His plan to reconcile us to Himself, a restored relationship that "gave Him great pleasure." (see also verse 9)
• 13-14 - The Holy Spirit is God's seal of identification, redemption, as well as a guarantee that we will receive the full inheritance that He has promised (see Romans 8:23).

Mark 14:32-36

• 36 - Here we see Jesus addressing God the Father in the same intimate way that we are also invited to.  As we are united with Christ, Just as we share in his joys, we must also share in His sufferings, remembering that, "because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne."  (Hebrews 12:2)

In a manner of speaking, as Christians, we all have a "Gotcha Day," the day we became one of God's children.  Though some adoptive parents discourage the word "gotcha," arguing that it is a word one may use when pursuing someone else, or views its object as a possession, to many, it is a tender word.  It connotes  a sense of love, of protection, of security, as in, "Don't worry about anything, son.  I've gotcha."

When was YOUR Gotcha Day?  And have you fully apprehended the implications of being called a child of God?  Don't let your conceptions of God the Father be limited or hindered by your memories of your earthly parents.  Instead, consider the words of King David, "Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close."  (Psalm 27:10)