Monday found us having lunch with some friends at Bucca di Beppo. If you’ve never eaten there, imagine an Italian restaurant colliding with an Italian grandmother’s attic full of photos and memorabilia. There isn't a bare spot on the walls. Or ceilings.
While waiting for the food, I took Ali for a walk around the place to burn off some energy. We stumbled upon a high-backed wooden chair with red velvet cushions. It looked kind of royal (in a Middle Ages sorta way), so I sat down and said something about being the king of all the land of Bucca.
Ali takes a step back, does the best curtsy a 5 year old (who has never been taught how to curtsy) can muster, and says, “Would you like me to be your servant?”
Without really thinking, I replied, “How about you be my daughter princess?”
And as those words were dying in the air, I thought, “Wow. Isn’t that the story of what God does for us?”
The only thing we deserve is death (Rom. 6:23). Sin has tainted us through and through, and the just reward for that, frankly, is hell. We don’t deserve heaven because we certainly haven’t earned the perfection required to stand in God’s presence. We all deserve to stay slaves to our sin and suffer the consequences.
Yet God steps in and says, “How about you be my heir? Prince or princess is a lot better than servant or slave.” Or as Paul wrote it, “[When redeemed by Christ] you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Gal. 4:7)
And this theme isn’t a one shot deal. When writing to new believers in Rome, Paul talks about it again, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Rom. 8:17)
When instructing Titus, he writes, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7)
I look at my sin—daily, intentional, wicked sin—and I want to run away. I want to hide from God, like Adam and Eve did. I think I’m not worthy to be anything but a poorly treated servant.
But God says, “Come. Be my child.”
Further reading: "Adoption: The Heart of the Gospel" by John Piper
This was great! You should totally preach on this. I know this is months after you wrote it, but I just found this as a link on your regular blog. If nothing else use it in Sunday school, or Young Adults when that starts again.
Posted by: Danny D. | January 14, 2009 at 01:32 PM