When I Was an Orphan

from Pat Morley

Volume 237
July 2, 2007

Jesus said to pray, “Our Father in heaven….”

For God to invite us to think of him as “Father” would be a cruel hoax if he did not then give us all the benefits of a son.

Whenever I consider the doctrine of adoption, I feel the stress start to melt away. Paul wrote, “You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’ For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs” (Romans 8:15-17, NLT).

Once upon a time I was a spiritual orphan, but then God adopted me as his son. Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:8, NIV).

We are the adopted sons of the Holy, Loving, Merciful, Awesome, Almighty, All-Knowing, All-Wise Creator, Sustain, and Father of all things. Let us not live one more day as though we were an orphan—forced to fend for ourselves, abandoned and unloved, and fearful about the future. Instead, let us live confidently as His sons and heir.

You are my Father, and I am your son.

For the glory of Christ and no other reason,

Pat Morley, Ph.D.