Influencers Weekly Devotional- The Birth of a Son

The Birth of a Son By Bryan Craig “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.”  Romans 8:19 A few weeks ago, I wrote a devotional, called “The Crucible”, where I talked about God’s work on my own heart through a rather long season of struggle and pain.  As any writer knows, you can really only write about what you know about.  My thoughts and Rocky’s thoughts in these devotionals are born out of our personal experience.  As God gives us revelation in the lining up of our experiences and His Word, we feel compelled to share it with you.  I feel like many of my devotionals have focused on suffering in different forms, but I am convinced that we should not shy away from the difficult things in life, for they are the secret to finding the deeper things of God. In “The Crucible”, I took you through Hebrews 12 and how God is teaching us that true sons will be disciplined.  It talks about the discipline being painful, but purposeful, in allowing us to share in His holiness.  It says “the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.” V. 6   He says if you are not disciplined, you are illegitimate!  Wow!  So, there is something universal in this idea of pain and suffering for ALL TRUE SONS of God. We know from Scripture that an adoption process exists by which God adopts us as His children.  As a matter of fact, it is written into our DNA to long for this adoption, even when we don’t realize it. “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the One Who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”  Romans 8:20-21 There is a longing within all of creation to be loved, to be accepted, to be adopted.  We will all be subjected to frustration, as we try to live life for ourselves, making our own way, until we finally give our lives to our loving Father.  Suddenly, we realize we have been adopted and we belong to Him.  However, it seems it is one thing to be adopted and yet another to become a son. Jack Frost, in his book, “Experiencing the Father’s Embrace,” one which I highly recommend, talks about Romanian orphans in the mid 80’s.  Thousands of babies were neglected and unwanted and existed in crude institutions.  In 1989, when Nicolae Ceausescu’s dictatorship ended, and this cruel situation was discovered, Westerners rushed to adopt these children.  Jack says: “These children, who had never known the love of a father or mother, and who had never been held, consoled, or shown any form of affection, had been mentally and emotionally crippled beyond repair.  They had developed what professional counselors call Reactive Attachment Disorder.  Children with this condition cannot function normally.  At an early age ungodly beliefs begin to influence their personality.  They begin to believe adults are uncaring, abusive and unreliable.  Because they have been neglected for so long, they lose the ability to trust.  Because they have never been hugged, they find it difficult to receive and give love, but often they live for self-love, seeking to get their unhealed needs met.” Even though loving families took these children in, and they knew they belonged to a new family, they still acted like orphans.  Many of us believe we have been adopted into the family of God, but we since we have never fully experienced or received the Father’s love, we still act like unbelievers. God must take us through the loving discipline spoken of in Hebrews 12 to help us become true sons.  It is a birthing process.  I have four children, and I have been in the Labor room for each of their births.  I marveled at watching these little babies being pressed and forged through that tiny birth canal until they reach a new life.  Then, I got to participate in that final act of setting them free as I cut the umbilical cord, the source of their air and nutrition in their former life.  In the moments following, the little being takes in its first breaths of its new life and all it can do is cry.  It is not quite sure what has just happened and it is out of sorts.  With all of my daughters, in these early moments of life, I’ve walked over and laid a gentle hand upon them and spoken to them with soothing words.  A strange thing happens.  As soon as they hear their Father’s voice, they start to calm down and find contentment. Brothers…can I call you brothers?  Have you been adopted or are you a True Son?  Have you been pressed and forged into a new creation?  Have you allowed your Father to cut off your dependency on your old life?  Have you cried out for answers and heard your Daddy’s loving voice?  You may be in the middle of this process right now.  If so, you are becoming a True Son. “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” Romans 8:19  Men, the world is waiting on you.  The world needs you.  God is using His sons to do His work in finding the orphans and bringing them home.  It is His sons who bear His likeness, who hear His voice, who follow His Spirit.  “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Romans 8:14 If you are feeling pain and suffering, take heart.  God is doing something.  You are being liberated from your bondage, losing your old life, and being brought into glorious freedom of being God’s son.