The Impact of Identity
In Genesis 17, God essentially says to Abraham, "I see you differently now. I want you to see you differently." How you see God, and how you see yourself, will deeply impact you. We were made to be free and alive, and those things that make you 'feel' most alive, even illigitimately, will draw you back.
God calls Abraham by a new name, thus giving him a new identity. Your name changes when you put your faith in Christ; you belong to another. An adopted son may cry all the time before AND after he is adopted, but everything changes for the child when he is adopted. Just as most slaves remained on the property of their masters after the end of the Civil War, so we too continue to live as slaves after we've been declared free.
In Roman law, you could legally disown a biological child, but you could never 'undo' a legal adoption. So when Paul says "You've been given the spirit of adoption as sons", the reader would have heard, "Now everything for you has changed forever."
Dr. C, "When I counsel someone I pray, "Let me see this person through your eyes and give me the courage to say what you show me... Let them live in the weight of their new name."
They must be reminded whose they are, because you will be faithful to who you really believe you belong to.
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