December 8

The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son. — Rev 21:7 BSB

What a promise! That the God of heaven and earth would be our God, our Father, our Benefactor, and our eternal, almighty Friend! And that in overcoming, we will receive the adoption as sons and daughters, and be revealed as the “sons and daughters” of the Almighty, receiving the inheritance reserved for the children of God! This promise is connected to “him who overcomes.” If we do not overcome, the promise does not apply to us. The promise of sonship is tied to overcoming, just as the promise of “inheritance” is tied to it. Do I need to feel the Spirit of adoption in my heart? Do I long to experience the love of God the Father poured out in my soul? Do I seek a blessed assurance of the inheritance He gives to His children? How do I receive it? How is it obtained? By making myself religious, becoming holy, or subduing my sins by my own strength? That path only leads me further from God. It makes me my own god. If I believe I am saved by my own holiness, strength, or righteousness, I worship myself, and in doing so, I become my own god. This is idolatry—damnable idolatry—and anyone who lives and dies worshiping themselves will perish under God’s wrath as an idolater.

So, how do I receive adoption? By overcoming, not in my own strength but in the strength of the Lord of life and glory. If I am consumed with myself, I inherit nothing but myself. If I inherit the world, I have nothing but the world. If I inherit sin, I inherit death, which is the wages of sin. But if I overcome—if, in my weakness and helplessness, I yield myself to the Lord like clay in the hands of the potter, not seeking my own will but asking the Lord to reveal His will to my conscience, and to work in me what is pleasing to Him—then I have evidence of my adoption. Where there is this evidence, there will be more evidence of the Spirit of adoption, allowing my soul to cry out to God as “Father.” And the one who calls God “Father” here on earth will also call Him “Father” in heaven, where they will enter into the full enjoyment of it and be immersed in the love of the Father, Son, and Spirit for all eternity.