"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."-John 1:12, NIV
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"-1 John 3:1, NIV
Jimmy was pretty young when his single mom married the man Jimmy would come to know as "Dad." It turned out to be a real good move, and Randy turned out to be a real good dad! At the time, nobody thought the procedure of adoption was needed.
Jimmy was about 42 years old when somehow the subject came up. Randy started thinking about what it would take to proceed with adoption. He learned that a few phone calls and forms to fill out was all that was required (Jimmy was 42!). A few months later, the letter arrived, proclaiming that his legal adoption had come through!
Being adopted had a profound impact on Jim; the years of unspoken uncertainty about where he fit disappeared, now he was certain of his identity! He headed down to the tattoo parlour, and in blue letters two-inches high, he had the family name inscribed from his shoulder to his wristbone! Oh yeah, he wanted everyone to know where he belonged!
Several months later, when his adopted grandpa died, he took some of the cremation ashes, mixed them with ink, and tattooed Gramps's name (not quite as big) on the other arm. I'm not sure how healthy that was, but it sure made the statement "I belong!"
When we come to know Jesus and become believers (John 1:12), we get adopted into God's family. It doesn't matter who we were or weren't before that time; believing in Jesus gives us "adopted" status with all the benefits (forgiveness, mercy, grace, eternal life and more!) of that standing. What an awesome privilege!
By the way, I ran into a sleeveless mechanic awhile back who had a complete Bible verse from Ezekiel tattooed down the whole length of his right arm-he wanted everyone to know whose family he belonged to, also! I'll go back there next time I need a mechanic-he's my brother!
