April 5

A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever. — John 8:35 BSB

It is the eternal blessing of a son that he is never cast out of the family, that the union between the Father and the child can never be broken, and that he will reign with Christ through an everlasting day. This is a comforting truth for God’s family: "the son abides forever." How often does a child of God struggle with fears of falling away, of drawing back to destruction, of being overtaken by temptation and shown to be nothing but a deceiver? But the Lord Himself says, "the son abides forever." Even if he’s just a babe in Christ, with only the beginning of spiritual life, he "abides forever." He has the same place in the Father’s heart, is a co-heir with Christ, and has a right to the same inheritance as those who have walked with the Lord longer.

Yet sometimes, the son may tire of the discipline in his Father’s house. God is both a wise and loving Parent. He treats His children with tenderness and intimacy, but He never allows them to be disrespectful. Sometimes, though, His children grow weary of the discipline, like the younger son in the parable, who asked for his inheritance and went off to a far country to waste it. Many of God’s children find themselves in a similar place. When the blessings of the gospel aren't felt, and restraint feels oppressive, their vain hearts may seek pleasure in the world, thinking they can find what they’re missing outside of the Father’s house. So they gradually drift away, chasing after the things of this world, erecting idols in their hearts, and bowing down to them.

But even in these times, "the son abides forever." The Father doesn’t disinherit His children, even if earthly parents might. God’s family is never cast out of their inheritance. Just as the true-born Israelite who had sold himself into slavery was set free in the year of Jubilee, the son who has wandered from the Father’s house will return when the time of restoration comes, and the silver trumpet of freedom is sounded. He will shake off his chains, cast aside his slave’s clothing, return to his Father’s house, and be joyfully welcomed back. What a reunion that will be! The forgiving Father and the repentant child, both shedding tears—one of affection, the other of contrition.

So no matter how far we stray in heart, how cold our love grows, or how far we wander from God, if we are His sons, we will "abide in the house forever" and possess an "inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled and will never fade away, kept in heaven for those who are protected by God’s power through faith unto salvation." And it will be our blessing to remain in the house of God as members of His family, without departing, until we are reunited with the family in heaven, "the general assembly and church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven."