What does it mean to be children of God?
This story is told among Jewish sects. A rabbi asked his disciples, “What is the greatest sin of all?” They argued among themselves, and one group said, “Idolatry.” Another “Violating the Sabbath.” Still another said, “Desecration of God’s name.” Finally, another group uttered, “Murder.”
The rabbi listened intently and afterwards told them they were all wrong. He said, “There is no greater sin than for you to forget what is written in Sacred Scriptures: you are the children of the Lord, your God.” (Deut. 14:1) Concluding, he noted, “It is the root of all the many and all the various wrongs, which we forgot to mention.”
As followers of Jesus Christ, we identify ourselves as children of God. We accept God as our Heavenly Father, meaning that He is a father figure in our lives, just as Jesus did. God the father’s love chooses us first, which sets this relationship in motion.
We look to Him to guide us and protect us, just like a loving and caring father would ordinarily do for his children. We look at Baptism as the official date of our becoming God’s sons or daughters.
As God’s children, we re-claim our destiny lost when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. As God’s children, we will spend eternity living with Jesus in heaven. While here on earth, we assist Jesus by becoming co-creators and builders of God’s kingdom.
It’s amazing that God the Father trusts us to complete the work that he started and to become the person he wants us to become. How? By listening to Jesus’ words and becoming his faithful followers.
Our faith in Jesus Christ confirms our identity as a child of God. Whenever we profess our faith in Jesus and believe in him, we renew this identity.
It is our faith which makes this perfectly clear. We can almost hear God the Father at our Baptism declaring, “This is now my beloved child. Listen to him or her.”
Saint Augustine was instrumental in promoting that “faith seeking understanding” is the knowledge. He famously declared, “Unless you believe, you will not understand.”
Once our faith becomes the foundation in which we build our life, our identity as a child of God, and, therefore, reliance on God as our Father, becomes plentiful. Why? Because we are now living Jesus and truly becoming God’s children. This transition, once accepted, gives life to all creation.
Painting: Father and Son, Danny Hahlbohm
