“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.“
Romans 8:15-17

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Feeling like you don’t really belong can be tough. From a fairly young age, I felt like the odd one out. I’m Latina, but by the time that I was born, my family had been in the U.S. for several years. I grew up with one foot in the Latino community and the other in majority American culture—but I never fully felt like I belonged in either space. It felt like I was too “Americanized” for most Latinos and too Latino to fit in with the white kids.

That feeling of not really belonging permeated other areas of my life too. I struggled to feel like I fit in with other believers. If I was saved, I was convinced that it was only by the skin of my teeth. I couldn’t see how God could possibly cherish someone like me.

It wasn’t until I began studying and embracing what God had to say on the matter that I realized the truth.

The crazy, wonderful reality we find in Romans 8:15-17 is that God not only did the unthinkable and died to save us when we were His enemies—He actually adopted us as His own children and made us His heirs. God wasn’t content to simply save us. He chose to adopt us as sons and daughters and made a place for us at His table. We forever belong to His family! No one and nothing can take that away from us.

Because we are now part of God’s family, we can gladly embrace our new identity and imitate our heavenly Father. This means putting to death the deeds of the flesh and living according the Spirit (Romans 8:13). Let us obey our heavenly Father and follow Him—even when it leads to suffering—because we know that we will rise again with Christ.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong?
  • How does it make you feel to know that you belong to God’s family?
  • How can you imitate your heavenly Father today?

Church Reading Plan: 

  • Today, April 12: Proverbs 30; 1 Timothy 1
  • Saturday, April 13: Proverbs 31; 1 Timothy 2
  • Sunday, April 14: Ecclesiastes 1; 1 Timothy 3