Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
John 1:6-13 (NIV)
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
As we continue to study Galatians, we are faced with the depth of God’s love for us. This week, we heard about how we are heirs – inheritors – of all that rightfully belongs to God’s son, Jesus Christ. Here again, in the gospel of John, at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, we are confronted with this fact again, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”. (John 1:12a) I can’t quite find a suitable example for the depth of this reality. It is more than a parents’ first glimpse of their newborn child – the overwhelming love for someone who can give you nothing in return. It is more than the love we may have for a spouse or family member. That we are children of God colors all that we are; we are clothed with Christ. Consider this throughout the day. What does it mean that you are a child of God, that you are dearly loved by the creator of the universe?