When you know whose you are, you know who you are.

Stop and breathe in that truth for a moment. This is true in an earthly sense and a much deeper spiritual sense in our relationship with God. When we were born, regardless of the circumstances, we have a mother and father. They either collectively or individually have a last name. You then received an identity, a first and last name, regardless of choice. We belong to our mother and father.

We also know that we live in a dark, broken world full of imperfect, broken, sinful parents who don’t always live up to the image of father or mother that we long for. Some of us had amazing (although imperfect) parents. Others of us have had a difficult relationship with our parents or even struggled with their absence.

In 1 Peter chapter 1, Peter offers some good news to his audience of persecuted Christians, and to us here today. Regardless of your relationship with your earthly parents, we all have a Father in heaven who is a perfect, loving, and never absent parent. Because we belong to him, we are children of God. Because of this truth, we also receive all the benefits of that relationship. Peter writes in verses 3 and 4: In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you. (NIV)

Just as you might receive an inheritance from your earthly parents, your Heavenly Father has something even greater in store for you! Because we are God’s children, we receive his full inheritance. We receive everything Jesus received as his son. Love, affection, admiration, blessings, favor, and an eternal relationship in his presence. Today, know that in the midst of a broken, imperfect set of circumstances with your parents, the love of God has been lavished upon you and will continue forever!

Questions for reflection:

  1. Read that truth again: When you know whose you are, you know who you are. How does this apply to your relationship with God?
  2. What is the difference between God’s eternal inheritance, and the earthly inheritances we might gain in this world? How does this make a difference in your life?