Our Identity is Secure

Before the first star appeared in the night sky, before the mountains were formed, before anything existed at all, God made a decision about you. He set His mind on something extraordinary: He would adopt you as His child. Not because you earned it. Not because you deserved it. Simply because He wanted you to be His.

This isn't just theological poetry. This is the bedrock reality of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

The Picture of Adoption
Imagine a child born into circumstances where the mother, knowing she couldn't provide what was needed, made the heartbreaking decision to give the child away. The child had no awareness of what was happening, no understanding of the need that existed. Meanwhile, somewhere else, a family was searching—looking for a child to call their own.

When they found that child and said "yes," their work had just begun. They had to prepare a home, ensuring it was safe and ready. They had to make arrangements for the child's future security, guaranteeing care no matter what happened. And finally, they had to pay a price—not to purchase the child, but to cover the expenses already incurred and to make the adoption legal and binding.

This is precisely what God has done for each of us.

We come into this world unable to provide for our deepest need. Most people don't even realize they're in need of rescue. But there is One who saw us and declared, "Yes, I will adopt them." And His commitment didn't stop with words.

The Debt We Could Never Pay
Ephesians 1:7 tells us: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace."

Redemption means to be bought back. The concept comes from an ancient form of servitude where someone who owed a debt they couldn't pay would serve the person they owed until the debt was satisfied or forgiven. In the ancient world, debts weren't easily dismissed. If you owed someone, you worked it off—sometimes for years, sometimes for decades.

God understood this system intimately. In fact, He instituted something called Jubilee for His people—every fifty years, all financial debts were forgiven, all servants were released, and all land was returned to original families. It was God's way of ensuring His people were never permanently enslaved, never hopelessly indebted, never forever without a home.

But even Jubilee was temporary. People found themselves back in debt, back in servitude, back in need.

Then Jesus came.

He didn't just pay our debt—He stamped it "PAID IN FULL" through the shedding of His blood. Every single one of us comes into this world owing God everything. Our sin creates a debt we have absolutely no ability to pay. It doesn't matter how good we are, how generous, how kind, or how much we serve. The debt requires the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Here's what's remarkable: God could have simply redeemed us and left it at that. He could have said, "You're free. Go on about your business." But He didn't stop there.

He also forgave us.

To forgive means to give up the right to punish, to release the demand for justice. Yet God didn't actually give up that right—He still demanded punishment for sin. He just took it upon Himself. On the cross, Jesus absorbed the punishment we deserved so that we could go free.

Would any of us take a prison sentence for someone clearly guilty? Maybe for a family member we desperately wanted to protect. But for strangers? Never. Yet God stepped in and did exactly that for everyone.

God's Plan Is No Secret
One of the most comforting truths in Scripture is this: God's ultimate plan is not a mystery. He has made known to us what He intends to do.

Right now, all of creation is broken. It's out of alignment because of sin. Not just humanity—everything. Gardens grow weeds. Animals that should be gentle are dangerous. The earth itself groans with earthquakes, floods, storms, and disasters. All of creation is waiting for restoration.

The process of fixing this began the moment God made clothes for Adam and Eve in the Garden. When they sinned and tried to cover themselves with fig leaves, God killed an animal—innocent blood was shed for the first time to cover their shame. This established a principle that would echo through all of Scripture: sin requires the shedding of blood.

For centuries, the sacrificial system provided temporary covering for sin. Animals were offered again and again. But these were never permanent solutions.

Then came the pivotal moment on Calvary's cross. Once again, innocent blood was shed—but this time, it wasn't a temporary covering. It was a permanent removal of the sin that separated us from God.

Everything God has ever said would happen up to this point has happened. His track record is perfect. Unlike people who make promises they can't keep, God has never once failed to do what He said He would do.

And He has promised that when the time is right, He will restore everything. All of creation—earth, sky, space, humanity—will once again live in perfect unity because of Jesus Christ. The lion will lay down with the lamb. Danger will be gone. Sin will be no more.

The Inheritance of Hope
When a child is adopted, they don't instantly know all the family stories, the inside jokes, the shared history. But over time, they learn. They discover why certain traditions exist, what sacrifices were made, why certain names matter.

As believers, we are now family. And family learns the family secrets—or as Paul called them, the "mysteries." These aren't hidden to be secretive; they're simply unknown to those outside the family.

To non-believers, the message of the cross sounds like foolishness. Who would choose to save the world through suffering, mockery, and public shame? It makes no sense from a worldly perspective.

But we who are in the family understand. We know the secret: this is how love wins.

Part of our inheritance is hope—not wishful thinking, but confident expectation. We don't have to wait until we die to receive something from our Father. We inherit characteristics from Him now. We begin to look like Him, talk like Him, act like Him. We receive His wisdom and learn from His example.

And to prove that this inheritance is real, God has given us a down payment: the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit: Your Guarantee
Most people don't make a down payment on something and then fail to follow through. The down payment proves commitment and intention.

Our sin has been paid for. The debt is cleared. But most of us still struggle with sin day after day. That's why God gave us the Holy Spirit—to teach us, guide us, and keep us from falling back into slavery to sin.

The Holy Spirit is like a living will, guiding us to follow God's desires while we're still here on earth. He sets us apart and seals us until we stand before God. When that day comes, we will finally be released from sin forever.

Heaven won't be a boring place where we stand around doing nothing. Work existed before sin entered the world—it just wasn't painful or frustrating. In eternity, we'll have purpose, activity, and joy. But the best part is this: we'll have Jesus with us. We'll see God face to face and worship Him for all eternity.

Your Identity Is Secure
Because of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit, your identity is secure in Him.

You are a child of God.

Let that truth sink deep into your soul. You're not just saved. You're not just forgiven. You're not just on your way to heaven someday.

You are a beloved child of the King of the universe.

You have all the benefits that come with being a child of the King. You have His authority. You have His full inheritance. You have His name and His protection.

You're not a piece of rubbish. You're not forgotten. You're not unloved or uncared for.

You are so deeply loved that Jesus sent His only Son to die on a cross for you—to bring you into His household, to make you part of His family.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, this is your identity. Stand firm in it. Walk confidently in it. Let it shape how you see yourself and how you live.

And if you're not yet a believer, the door is wide open. All you have to do is say yes. Believe that Jesus is who He says He is, that He died on the cross for your sins, and receive Him into your life.

The heavy lifting is already done. The gift is waiting.

Your adoption papers are ready to be signed.