I'm a child of the King

Being a child of God is a big deal; some would say it's central to the Christian faith. Theologian J.I. Packer in his book Knowing God goes so far as to say, "Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption."

To understand our place in God's family is to understand our true identity, and it sets the tone for how we live our lives. All of the faithless striving, scheming and fretting we do is not merely irritating or unfortunate; it's a denial of our Father. It's sin, quite frankly.

There's a wonderful old hymn titled "A Child of the King." Some of the lyrics read:

I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, an alien by birth,
But I've been adopted, my name's written down,
An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.

I'm a child of the King,

A child of the King:

With Jesus my Savior,

I'm a child of the King. (Buell/Sumner, 1877)