I am blessed to be your child

We are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. 

Everyone knows that children take after their parents.   Well, if God is our Father, then it naturally follows that we take after him.   Let’s look at two analogies that can help us understand what it means to be children of God: an acorn and a basketball player.

An acorn may look nothing like an oak tree, but it is destined to become one.   It can’t become a pine tree or a banana or a giraffe.   It can only be an oak tree.

Like that acorn, you bear some of God’s own traits.   He made you, so of course you will take after him.   If you are willing to help someone at the cost of your own comfort; if your heart breaks at injustice; if you feel compassion for people, even those who rub you the wrong way—all this proves that you are like your Father in heaven.

What about the basketball player?   Two-time NBA champion Steph Curry is famous for his long-range shooting.   He inherited this ability from his father, Dell, a successful player in the 1980s and 1990s.   But Curry’s teammates don’t talk only about his inherited abilities.   They also marvel at his dedication to practice.   The potential to be a great athlete may be in his DNA, but he still has to work to unlock that potential.   And he does.

The acorn shows us that children become like their parents, but the ballplayer shows us the time, patience, and effort that are necessary to grow into our full inheritance.

St. John tells us that one day we will be fully revealed as God’s children.   That day isn’t here yet.   We still have training and practice ahead of us.   We still have to grow into the person God intends us to be.   But at the same, time we can rejoice because we already take after our Father.   The family likeness is already there for everyone to see.

You have so much going for you, so many blessings to build on.   So keep on practicing.   Keep on training.   Keep on following your Father’s example.   Day after day, you’ll take on even more of the family likeness.

word among us