You should behave…like God's very own children, adopted into his family—calling him "Father, dear Father."

Romans 8:15 NLT

A thought for Father's Day

Ruby and her husband had two children, one adopted, the other their own, a year younger. One day when the boys were eight and nine years old, a friend came to visit. The woman looked at the children playing in the yard and asked, "Which boy is yours, Ruby?"

"Both of them," Ruby replied with a smile.

"No, I mean which one is adopted?" the friend persisted.

Ruby looked at the boys for a minute, then gazed back at her inquisitive friend and said, "I've forgotten."

What is the difference between a biological child and one who has has been adopted into the family of God? In the eyes of our Father, there is none. We are full brothers and sisters of Jesus. We share in his glorious inheritance. God willingly brings us into his family and lets us sit at the table beside his one and only Son. He doesn't remember our bloodline any more than he remembers our sins. He only knows that we needed a home, and he gave us one. That's what it means to be children of God.

Thank you, "Father, dear Father."

based on a story by Frank Martin in Embracing Eternity (Tyndale House Publishers) p 232