“But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believed in His name, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12‭-‬13 We are Americans-we have rights and rightly so (no pun intended)! Our Founders, some of whom came here from countries where they had no human rights, labored to outline these rights for us in documents like the “bill of rights”. Our servicemen and women, some who were our fathers, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters served, fought and sometimes died, to protect our rights as Americans. But Jesus, the “Word” or Message or Expression of and from God, provided the greatest human right that any of us could have-the right to be children of God (and that not in the broad sense of the word, but in the most literal terms-ACTUALY CHILDREN OF GOD, WITH ALL THE PRIVILAGES AND HERITAGE THAT SONSHIP BRINGS)! WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD! Sadly, though offered to everyone, this privilage is not embraced by everyone.
Those who recieve Jesus, the Word of God, the Message or Expression of and from God of Who He is and of His love for us, possess this wonderful right! Additionally, vs 13 makes it clear that being a child of God comes from a birth that is controlled and willed by God Himself–“not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God”! This birth sounds a WHOLE LOT like the one described by Jesus to Nicodemus in John 3:5-8–described as being “born again”! This birth is not inspired by us, willed by our parents or destined by happenchance–its planned by God, initiated by God and carried out by God. Our only role is to recieve, in context with this verse, Jesus, “the true light, who gives light to everyone . . .” (John 1:9)
What would you not do for your child? What would you not do to protect your child? To what extent would you go, to insure that your child has all that he or she needs? THAT’S HOW GOD FEELS ABOUT YOU! Think about it!