There is so much silly fun in the movie “Elf” that we often overlook it is the story of adoption. Buddy is raised at the North Pole by elves until he realizes he is human and goes down to New York to find his real Dad. Buddy struggled in the world of elves because he is human, and then in New York, discovers that the world of humans is not as uplifting as he might have hoped. I’m pretty sure the movie didn’t intend to make this point, but it struck me that believers can relate to Buddy: we know there’s a better, happier place, but we live in a world that doesn’t always lift us up. We are something like orphans who are waiting for our Dad to embrace us and take us in, and we long for our proper place in the family.
If I could write an awesome prayer for YOU, and if I wanted it to lift you up, to connect all the dots, and to connect you somehow to a secret adoption inheritance God has held in store for YOU, it might go something like this: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which he [God] has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” (Ephesians 1:18-21, NIV).
An Amazing Book full of Superlative Riches
Ephesians is Paul’s letter of superlatives. He talks about the riches of God’s grace “lavished on us” (1:7); Christ being “the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (1:23); the “incomparable riches” of God’s grace (2:7); the “boundless riches of Christ” (3:8); and about the God “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (3:20).
Paul is not speaking here of having a logical, rational relationship with God. He talks about “the eyes of our heart” being enlightened. This is no academic pursuit, no theological construct. He is using the kind of language that you see in love letters, and says he has been overwhelmed with his lover’s characteristics and swept away with emotion. To paraphrase Buddy the Elf, he is saying, “I’m in love! I’m in love! And I don’t care who knows it!”
Irrational Love
Do you feel that way about God? Can you, like Buddy, run down the street and say that? There are two things that stand out to me among the smitten superlatives. One is that God has given us “the riches of his glorious inheritance”. We can only receive an inheritance if He has adopted us into his family, so that is awesome news! Adoption changes everything.
So, how has being adopted changed your life? Have you stopped to consider the consequences of bearing a new name, having a new family, and being eligible for a big inheritance? Well, stop and consider it. Now. Seriously, stop and think about the fact that YOU have been adopted into GOD’S family! What does that mean for you?
A Different Father, Different Family…
Paul says that resurrection power is available to us, here and now. That means whatever enabled Jesus to suffer unbelievable hardship, to persevere, and to endure the cross is available to us. I have to say honestly that I don’t really live in that power very often. I putt-putt around in my little world, doing my little things. There doesn’t seem to be cosmic power surging through me like an electric current.
But I have seen moments when God worked, and when His power transcended circumstances. I was able catch a glimpse of an eternity powered by the resurrection—moments of forgiveness, joy, and awe. The riches revealed in those moments confirmed what it says in Hebrews 11:1. It says that faith provides us “the substance of the things I hoped for, and the reality of the things I have not yet seen…” Embrace the resurrection, and enjoy your adoption today! It’s a very powerful thing!
The Riches of Inheritance
Birthright is a powerful thing that every family shares,
Preserving rights and privileges that cannot be co-opted.
It guarantees inheritance is passed to rightful heirs,
Not only to the born, but just as much to the adopted!
Orphans all, caught up in fallen time and random chance,
We dreamed about a family where we could play a part;
We looked at heaven’s Wedding feast and heaven’s glorious dance,
And felt the longing of belonging in a hopeful heart.
Then the Father called us to the feast! He said, “Come in,
And take your rightful places at the table by my side.
You are now my children: I have imputed every sin,
And you will join my Son not just as children, but a Bride.
The work He did upon the cross, the love we have ensures
That you are mine. My glorious inheritance is yours.”
To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
