Sonship Over Servanthood

John 5:18, "This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God."

Some people have such a confidence in the Lord that it can be perceived as arrogance. I can assure you it's not. What we don't know is the wrestling match that took place deep within them to trust fully. To leave excuses behind, and to trash all the mistaken identities. To work through the wounds of the past, and to rest in Him. No, it's not arrogance you see. It's the confidence that each of us are meant to walk in. Pride, insecurity, and misunderstanding the nature of the Father clouds our vision. It's the same religious spirit that enraged the Pharisees. How could anyone call God Father? But a trusted Son knows His place.

"Behold, what manner of love the Father has lavished upon us...", John said. The fact that we could be called children of God was an incredible thought. It's an even greater reality. His finishes this verse by saying, "And that is what we are." John didn't get there by accident. He walked with the Lord. He was there when Jesus taught His disciples to pray: "Our Father..." He understood the change that was coming into their vocabulary. No longer would God be seen as a distant solitary figure, but He would now be known as Father.

This type of intimate language was too much for the religious crowd of Jesus' day. To know God as Father is to make yourself equal with God. They sought to kill Jesus even more over these statements. To know God as Father means to be a son. And their religious system had no place for sons. Only servants. The best you could hope for was to appease this God. To satisfy His need for blood. To try and live by His rules. Sonship is a far cry from servanthood.

What's amazing to me is that Jesus is teaching His disciples to pray "Our Father" before the atonement. He shared with them His intimate relationship with the Father and showed them how to walk in it. It would take time to detox. Time to remove all of the elements of the old way of doing things. But eventually they would get it. It definitely helped when the Holy Spirit came. His inward witness of this truth would release them to walk as sons.

Understanding this truth in your own life creates unbridled confidence. Knowing that He is your Father. Not through anything you have ever done. Knowing that you are His Son. Not because you fulfilled some type of requirement. Knowing this will set you free to rest in Him, to walk in peace, and to experience His unconditional love.

It saddens me that more and more people in the church don't experience this reality. I have come across hundreds of people who don't know the Lord personally, but believe in the love of God with a greater confidence than those who claim to be His children. Why is that? What have we been teaching people in the church that would cause them to question the nature of God and their relationship with Him? Do I really need to ask those questions?

You've been there. You have heard some of the claims about G-O-D that causes you to flinch. Causes you to think differently about Him than the way Jesus presented Him. You have sat under the teachings that makes God out to be more like Zeus rather than the Abba of Jesus. Don't you know that you can walk in the same confidence as the Lord? You can know Him, really know Him, to be your Father. You can have the assurance that He hears your prayers, knows your heart, and is working all things for good in your life. You can experience His love, and walk in His compassion. You can, if you are willing to overcome the junk you have been willing to believe.

He is a good Father. He's not abusive. He lovingly speaks to us. He reassures us of our place in Him. He speaks to His nature and character within us. Always. He is not disillusioned about you because He never had any illusions. He knows who you are. He knows exactly why He created you. You are His child. He wants you to take your place as a son. Do you know the difference?

The difference is in how we understand adoption.
The adoption spoken of in Scripture is not like the adoption we know of in the West. Our idea of adoption is bringing a child into your home who was not previously your child. However, in the Eastern culture, adoption also expressed through the maturation of a son coming into the family business. A day when a father would proclaim that this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. It is a turning over of all things into his authority. This is the adoption that the Bible speaks of. Children coming into sonship. Finding their place within the Father's business. Carrying His authority. Working to fulfill what is needed in His Kingdom.

This happens when we being to trust in who we are.
That arrogance you see in that person who is walking in confidence, it's calling to you. It is inviting you in. It is demonstrating who you could become.
Are you ready?
Are you tired of seeing yourself on the outside?
Are you willing to step into the awareness of how the Father sees you?

He is.
He's been waiting for you to take your place.
Your Father has been drawing you to this time.
Rise up Son of God. An adventure awaits.
Oh, this confidence will infuriate the religious crowds. But keep going. They just haven't come into this freedom yet. You get to show them how to live as a trusted son. Enjoy the journey!