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.
Romans 8:15

What would it be like to be adopted by a king and not only be given all the rights and privileges connected to him but also have a close relationship with him as your father? For those in Christ, this is exactly what has happened. You were adopted by the King of Kings, and yet you can call him Father. God chose you to set you apart in Christ as his beloved (Ephesians 1:4). You who were a slave to everything but God and full of fear, now have a spirit of adoption that leads to an intimate, personal relationship with the heavenly Father.  

There is a picture of this in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:22). When the father puts his own robe on the son, he makes a solemn covenant. The young man is no longer the lost son, he now has a new identity as a favored child. In the same way, at the cross, we exchange our sinner’s rags for Jesus royal robe and come away clothed in his righteousness. Since a royal robe signifies the person and his position, our identity is now set as a child of God. Nothing else defines us.

Do you live in your new identity or are you allowing others, the world, or circumstances to define who you are? Abba Father looks at you and says, “You are mine.”

Lord, thank you for making me your child. Help me to remember that at the core of my being the fact that I’m your child is what defines me. Thank you for the spiritual blessings you have clothed me with which come from being a son/daughter of the King, whom I can call Father.