I have three children who I love dearly and would be hard-pressed in any attempt to figure out which one of them is my favorite—each one is unique and extremely special to me, although I relate to them in different ways.  It will come as no surprise to anyone that I have been thinking about my oldest son quite a bit lately since he is currently on deployment in Afghanistan.

Aaron is tall, strong, and very independent—it is a rare opportunity that I can do anything for him or give him anything that he wants or needs.  I love those opportunities, though, and with him serving our country far away in a war-torn land, there are things I can do for him now that I really cannot do at any other time.  I love it!  Moms do not quit wanting to be a part of the lives of their children.

The relationships I have with my children started me to thinking about the relationship we have with our Father God.  We are, each one of us, unique creations; and I believe God relates to us in ways that fit both our needs and our personalities—our needs, because he promises to supply all that we need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19), and He invites us to cast all of our cares on Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7); our personalities, because He knew us before we were born and knit us together in our mother’s wombs (Psalm 139).  God has unique plans for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11) and specialized gifts to give us mission and purpose (1 Corinthians 14).

I also recognize that He has a beloved son, so identified at the river Jordan (Matthew 3:17), and on a mountain top (Matthew 17:5) centuries ago; and our position of favor with God has everything to do with our relationship to His beloved Son, Jesus.  We are no less favored than Mary, His mother, who the angel regaled with, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you! …The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:28, 35).

I often forget my position of favor with God as well as the power of God living in me.  Our favored child position begins the day we receive Jesus into our hearts by faith—and it only gets better as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior!  God sends the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, freeing us from slavery to sin as well as personal attempts at holiness, and He cries out to God, “Abba (Daddy!), Father—for we are not slaves, we are sons and daughters of God, and Christ is being formed in us through this relationship (Galatians 4).  It is through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus that He presents us to the Father holy, blameless, and above reproach (Colossians 1:22).

The same Holy Spirit power that birthed Jesus inside of Mary, and raised Christ from the dead, dwells in our hearts.  In Christ dwells all of the fullness of the Godhead, and we are complete and strengthened with all might in Him (I’m loving the book of Colossians right now!).  For what purpose? “…for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.  He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in who we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:11-13).

In Jesus, there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1), only favor:

• “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.  For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.”  (Psalm 6:11, 12)
• “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor.  No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.  O Lord of host, blessed is the one who trusts in you!”  (Psalm 84: 11, 12)
• “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.  So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make strait your paths.  Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.  It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” (Proverbs 3:3-8)

• But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:4-9)

I pray that God blesses you today with His grace and intense favor through Jesus Christ, that you may grow in knowledge and understanding of His magnificent love for you—in Jesus’ precious name.