You Are an Adopted Child

Tim learned the hard way that the two wonderful persons he had been calling Mom and Dad all his life were not his real parents. One of his pals gave him the word on the way home from school one afternoon when Tim was describing the bike his dad had promised him for his birthday. "He's not your dad," the boy shouted. "You're adopted!"

The news shook up Tim pretty badly, and when he faced his folks with his new knowledge about himself they told him that it was true. But, they added, he was not sent to them the way other boys and girls were who couldn't be sent back. Tim's parents assured him that they chose him carefully because they saw him and liked him better than anyone else and they wanted him to come and live with them.

That was a lot like what Jesus told his disciples when he said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you . . ." (John 15:16). And as he chose those twelve, so he has chosen us to follow him and to live with him. He saw something in us that he liked—someone after his own heart and to his own liking.

It is a wonderful feeling to be wanted. And we can be sure Christ wants us or he would not have picked us. Sometimes we do things that leave us feeling pretty mean and we wonder how anyone could like us. But Christ likes us. What is more—he loves us regardless of how bad we get sometimes. Our earthly parents love us as much as they have the power to love anyone. But our Heavenly Parent loves us more than we can ever know or than we feel we deserve to be loved.

Help me, O Christ, to make you glad that you have chosen me.