Nougat 7

What qualifies us to be called the Children of God? Consider today’s Holy Nougat

“God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” ‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭7‬, ‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This seems so straightforward since the answer is right here in the nougat doesn’t it? Yet somehow we have managed to add other conditions and caveats as though on a mission to keep salvation exclusive. But it’s not ours to dispense with, is it?

Now I am in no position to judge anyone who might have misunderstood the Word, for I so remember when I thought for years that John the Baptist wrote the Gospel. And while you are picking yourself up from rolling on the floor, might I note that Moses is credited with writing the entire first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or so I inferred from the descriptor. “The first book of Moses, called …” I was misled. Perhaps by an overactive mind.

But I believed.

And that’s what matters

Even when Jesus Christ Himself speaks in John 3:16, His stipulation is belief, not anything else. Not even understanding. It is good to understand, for it strengthens our faith (belief) in Him and by extension our relationship. But that’s neither the qualifier for being called a Child of God, nor for eternal life.

Do you believe

That’s what matters

Should we still be inclined to argue the case, we can also hear Paul’s take in Acts 16:30-31 in his encounter with his jail guard. This was the historic, miraculous jailbreak, where Paul and Silas – fellow missionaries – prevented the jail keeper from committing suicide by sharing the Good News with him. He was assured that all prisoners were accounted for then the Gospel was shared with him: ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus.’ That was Paul’s verdict which resulted in the salvation of the entire household.

They isn’t rocket science

Yet, even without the clauses many of us add, it is not always as easy as it sounds. Not at all. Earlier we noted that belief is interchangeable with Faith. And someone once used the letters to create an acronym: Forsaking All, I Trust Him! And that’s where the challenge lay – Can we Trust ie believe Jesus, or in Jesus when life goes awry? Do we Faith in God when everything points to it being stupid to do? Will we believe without undisputed proof that Jesus Y’shua is Who the Bible says He is? Is it worth it to proclaim ourselves Children of God when life is fairly okay and those who don’t profess belief seem to prosper? How easy is it to believe that we are ‘saved by Grace through Faith’ (see Ephesians 2:8), when others seek to impose various other conditions?

A final word – with Faith comes Peace. It’s all connected Hope inspires Peace and Hope is the root of Faith. Hear Paul’s explanation: “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. *Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege* where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” ‭‭(Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭2‬).

What do we Hope for spiritually? Where does Jesus factor in it?

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May all we seek be found in Christ