John 1:12-13 (NKJV) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not out of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God.
Because God has called mankind to multiply and fill the earth, families on earth are established by the will of man. Those who grew up in the loving presence of both parents are usually more emotionally secure and strong. On the other hand, there are those who believe that their births are a mistake. Their parents may have been gender biased against them, or superstitiously believed that their birth had brought the family bad fortune. Alternatively, they may have been born out of a wedlock or sexual assault, given away, adopted, or brought up by relatives. Consequently, they are suffering from the constant rejection they feel in their hearts.
However, it is never a mistake when it comes to God loving you and having you in His family. When it comes to our status as the children of God, it is His will for us and is motivated by His Agape love for us, which is unconditional.
God initiated and conceived the plan of salvation well before the foundation of the world by establishing the Abrahamic covenant so that the sin issue which separated us from Him would be resolved. It is a love by choice, so that all the families of the earth would be blessed without exception. God wants and has chosen every one of us as long as we respond to His love and salvation plan. We have the right to be His children.
Hebrews 12:9 (NKJV) Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
We must differentiate between human fathers and the Heavenly Father of spirits. We may have good earthly fathers, who are nonetheless imperfect, whereas God is perfect. Therefore, we can always look to Him for guidance even if our imperfect human fathers have failed us. God is Spirit, and we are spiritual beings. The real “us” is the spirit being who lives for eternity, and the sonship is in the spirit being. Because our conscience has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, our spirit being is sensitive to the rebuking, training, and the correction of the Heavenly Father. Even if you had an absent father or were single parented, you can still be trained and nurtured by the perfect Heavenly Father by yielding to Him.
All of us have flaws in our lives whether they are evident or hidden within us emotionally. The good news is that God’s love doesn’t take any of these into consideration because His love for us is unconditional.
Sermon Series: Sonship
你的出生不是个错误
约翰福音 1:12-13凡接待他的，就是信他名的人，他就赐他们权柄作神的儿女。这等人不是从血气生的，不是从情欲生的，也不是从人意生的，乃是从神生的。
因为神呼召人类生养众多，遍满全地，于是人类就在地上按意愿组成了家庭。那些在父母双全的温馨家庭中长大的孩子往往更有安全感，更坚强。而另外一些人则认为他们的出生是个错误。这可能是因为父母有性别偏见，或者出于迷信认为他们的出生给家庭带来了厄运。或者，他们可能是非婚生子女或性侵犯的结果，被送人、收养或由亲属抚养长大。这导致他们的内心为持续的拒绝感所折磨。
然而，当谈到上帝爱你并接纳你成为祂的家人时，这绝不是个错误。 当谈到我们作为上帝儿女的身份时，这是祂对我们的旨意，是由祂对我们的 Agape 无条件的爱所激发的。
上帝早在创世之前就开始构想了救赎计划，于是祂与亚伯拉罕立约，以便解决那使我们与祂隔绝的罪的问题。这是主动选择的爱，让地球上的所有家庭都得到祝福，无一例外。上帝愿意并且已经拣选了我们每一个人，只要我们回应祂的爱和救恩计划，我们有权成为祂的孩子
希伯来书12:9 再者，我们曾有生身的父管教我们，我们尚且敬重他，何况万灵的父、我们岂不更当顺服他得生吗？
我们必须将世上的父亲与万灵的天父区分开来。我们地上的父亲或许慈爱但总归是不完美的，但神是完美的。因此，即便我们那不完美的地上的父亲曾经辜负过我们，我们总能够仰望天父的指引。神是个灵，而我们是属灵的存在。真正的“我们”是永生的灵魂。父子关系是属灵的关系。因为我们的良心已经被耶稣的宝血洁净了，我们的灵就会敏锐于天父的督责、训导和纠正。即便你生长于父亲缺席或单亲家庭，只要你降伏于祂，你依旧可以得到这位完美天父的教导与养育。
我们每个人的生命中都会有缺陷，这些缺陷或许是显然的，或许是内心隐秘的情感。好消息是因着神对我们无条件的爱，祂全然无视这些缺陷，依然爱我们。
讲章系列：作为儿子的身份
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