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Whose Child Are You?
1 John 3:9-11 (New International Version)
“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.”
Ephesians 1:4-6 (New International Version)
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
“All who are found worthy to be counted as the members of the family of God in heaven, will recognize one another as sons and daughters of God. They will realize that they all receive their strength and pardon from the same source, even from Jesus Christ who was crucified for their sins. They know that they are to wash their robes of character in His blood, to find acceptance with the Father in His name, if they would be in the bright assembly of the saints, clothed in the white robes of righteousness.
“The family is named after the Father. Those who enter the heavenly mansions will have the name of the Father and the name of the city of God written in their foreheads. They will bear the divine superscription and be partakers of the divine nature” (That I May Know Him, p. 103).
WHOSE CHILD ARE YOU?
Many years ago, in the foothills of eastern Tennessee, Ben was born. In those days, boys and girls born to unwed mothers were treated terribly. Parents wouldn’t let their children play with little Ben. When Ben accompanied his mother to the store, he’d hear people talking just loud enough for him to hear, wondering who his father was.
By first grade, Ben would stay at his desk during recess and lunch, since no one would play with him.
When Ben was 12, a new preacher came to their small town. This was an exciting event, and many people began attending the little church. The stories about the new man in town caught Ben’s interest. This preacher was loving and nonjudgmental. He accepted people just as they were, and when he was with them, people felt better about themselves. When he joined any group, smiles broadened, laughter increased, and spirits rose.
Ben was curious, so one Sunday he decided to learn more about the man and attended church for the first time in his life. He made sure to arrive late and slip out early, but he liked what he heard. He kept coming back week after week. For the first time in his life, Ben caught just a glimmer of hope.
During the sixth or seventh week of the meetings, Ben became absolutely enthralled with the message. It was almost as if there were a sign behind the preacher’s head that read, “For you, little Ben Hooper of unknown parentage, there is hope!” Ben forgot all about slipping out early; he was too wrapped up in the message. Suddenly the service was over; Ben rose quickly to leave and found the aisle blocked. As he was contemplating working his way through the crowd, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, Ben looked up right into the eyes of the young preacher, who asked what everyone had been wondering for years, “Whose boy are you?”
The church grew silent, waiting for the answer. Slowly the preacher’s smile began to spread across his face, “Oh, I know whose boy you are! Why, the family resemblance is unmistakable. You are a child of God!”
With that, the preacher swatted Ben across the rear and said, “That’s quite an inheritance you’ve got there, boy! Now, go and see to it that you live up to it.”
Ben Hooper said that was the day that transformed his life. His picture of himself changed, and that began the change in his life. Ben had gone from being the child of an unknown father to being the child of the King. Ben Hooper was later elected and re-elected governor of Tennessee.
The same thing that was true about Ben Hooper is true about us. We are children of God.
- How does this story of Ben compare to our story as Christians?
- How do people recognize your family? Do they have certain characteristics? Explain.
- What is it about Christians that cause people to recognize us?
- How do we become part of God’s family?
Genesis 35:15-20, 37:1-36, 45:1-15
HERE’S WHAT I THINK
When Fred was 14, his mother suddenly died. Fred had been very close to his mother and felt lost without her. Two years later, Fred’s dad remarried. His stepmother was nothing like his own mother. The teenager didn’t want a replacement and didn’t want anything to do with the new woman in his house.
- What advice can you give Fred for dealing with this difficult situation?
- Whom can Fed turn to for help in his community?
- If you were Fred, what would you do to make life better for the family?
Go to http://guidemagazine.org/rtf to post your answers. Your thoughts and feelings may seem clearer to you when you write them down, so we’ve provided space for you here as well. You may also wish to share them with your class later. Be upfront and honest.
The Bible passages listed below tell the story of a Bible family. God used this family. They weren’t perfect. They were just willing to be used by God. Read the Bible passages, and answer the questions at the end of the lesson for today.
Genesis 35:15-20 (The Message)
“Jacob set up a stone pillar on the spot where God had spoken with him. He poured a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil. Jacob dedicated the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel (God's-House).
“They left Bethel. They were still quite a ways from Ephrath when Rachel went into labor—hard, hard labor. When her labor pains were at their worst, the midwife said to her, ‘Don't be afraid—you have another boy.’
“With her last breath, for she was now dying, she named him Ben-oni (Son-of-My-Pain), but his father named him Ben-jamin (Son-of-Good-Fortune).
“Rachel died and was buried on the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem. Jacob set up a pillar to mark her grave. It is still there today, ‘Rachel's Grave Stone.’”
Genesis 37:1-36 (The Message)
“Meanwhile Jacob had settled down where his father had lived, the land of Canaan.”
“This is the story of Jacob. The story continues with Joseph, seventeen years old at the time, helping out his brothers in herding the flocks. These were his half brothers actually, the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought his father bad reports on them.
“Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was the child of his old age. And he made him an elaborately embroidered coat. When his brothers realized that their father loved him more than them, they grew to hate him—they wouldn't even speak to him.
“Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said, ‘Listen to this dream I had. We were all out in the field gathering bundles of wheat. All of a sudden my bundle stood straight up and your bundles circled around it and bowed down to mine.’
“His brothers said, ‘So! You're going to rule us? You're going to boss us around?’ And they hated him more than ever because of his dreams and the way he talked.
“He had another dream and told this one also to his brothers: ‘I dreamed another dream—the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to me!’
“When he told it to his father and brothers, his father reprimanded him: ‘What's with all this dreaming? Am I and your mother and your brothers all supposed to bow down to you?’ Now his brothers were really jealous; but his father brooded over the whole business.
“His brothers had gone off to Shechem where they were pasturing their father's flocks. Israel said to Joseph, ‘Your brothers are with flocks in Shechem. Come, I want to send you to them.’
“Joseph said, ‘I'm ready.’
“He said, ‘Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing and bring me back a report.’ He sent him off from the valley of Hebron to Shechem.
“A man met him as he was wandering through the fields and asked him, ‘What are you looking for?’
“‘I'm trying to find my brothers. Do you have any idea where they are grazing their flocks?’
“The man said, ‘They've left here, but I overheard them say, “Let's go to Dothan.”’ So Joseph took off, tracked his brothers down, and found them in Dothan.
“They spotted him off in the distance. By the time he got to them they had cooked up a plot to kill him. The brothers were saying, ‘Here comes that dreamer. Let's kill him and throw him into one of these old cisterns; we can say that a vicious animal ate him up. We'll see what his dreams amount to.’
“Reuben heard the brothers talking and intervened to save him, ‘We're not going to kill him. No murder. Go ahead and throw him in this cistern out here in the wild, but don't hurt him.’ Reuben planned to go back later and get him out and take him back to his father.
“When Joseph reached his brothers, they ripped off the fancy coat he was wearing, grabbed him, and threw him into a cistern. The cistern was dry; there wasn't any water in it.
“Then they sat down to eat their supper. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites on their way from Gilead, their camels loaded with spices, ointments, and perfumes to sell in Egypt. Judah said, ‘Brothers, what are we going to get out of killing our brother and concealing the evidence? Let's sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let's not kill him—he is, after all, our brother, our own flesh and blood.’ His brothers agreed.
“By that time the Midianite traders were passing by. His brothers pulled Joseph out of the cistern and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites who took Joseph with them down to Egypt.
“Later Reuben came back and went to the cistern—no Joseph! He ripped his clothes in despair. Beside himself, he went to his brothers. ‘The boy's gone! What am I going to do!’
“They took Joseph's coat, butchered a goat, and dipped the coat in the blood. They took the fancy coat back to their father and said, ‘We found this. Look it over—do you think this is your son's coat?’
“He recognized it at once. ‘My son's coat—a wild animal has eaten him. Joseph torn limb from limb!’
“Jacob tore his clothes in grief, dressed in rough burlap, and mourned his son a long, long time. His sons and daughters tried to comfort him but he refused their comfort. ‘I'll go to the grave mourning my son.’ Oh, how his father wept for him.
“In Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, manager of his household affairs.”
Genesis 45:1-15 (The Message)
“Joseph couldn't hold himself in any longer, keeping up a front before all his attendants. He cried out, ‘Leave! Clear out—everyone leave!’ So there was no one with Joseph when he identified himself to his brothers. But his sobbing was so violent that the Egyptians couldn't help but hear him. The news was soon reported to Pharaoh's palace.
“Joseph spoke to his brothers: ‘I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?’ But his brothers couldn't say a word. They were speechless—they couldn't believe what they were hearing and seeing.
“‘Come closer to me,’ Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. ‘I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don't feel badly, don't blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn't you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt.
“‘Hurry back to my father. Tell him, “Your son Joseph says: I'm master of all f Egypt. Come as fast as you can and join me here. I'll give you a place to live in Goshen where you'll be close to me—you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and anything else you can think of. I'll take care of you there completely. There are still five more years of famine ahead; I'll make sure all your needs are taken care of, you and everyone connected with you—you won't want for a thing.”’
“‘Look at me. You can see for yourselves, and my brother Benjamin can see for himself, that it's me, my own mouth, telling you all this. Tell my father all about the high position I hold in Egypt, tell him everything you've seen here, but don't take all day—hurry up and get my father down here.’
“Then Joseph threw himself on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. He then kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Only then were his brothers able to talk with him.”
- Whose family did you just read about? What are their names?
- Describe the traits—good and bad—about this family.
- Who was the father? What sort of man was he?
- What bad major event occurred that changed almost everyone in the family?
- Has your family had anything happen that changed everyone?
- After reading this story, what did you learn about being part of God’s family?
Galatians 5:22, 23 (New International Version)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
“Our Saviour, who understands our heart struggles, and knows the weakness of our natures, pities our infirmities, forgives our errors, and bestows upon us the graces which we earnestly desire. Joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, faith, and charity are the elements of the Christian character. These precious graces are the fruit of the Spirit, and the Christian's crown and shield. Where these graces reign in the home, the sons are ‘as plants grown up in their youth,’ and the daughters ‘as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace.’ These heavenly attainments are not dependent upon circumstances, nor the will of imperfect judgment of man. Nothing can give more perfect contentment and satisfaction than the cultivation of a Christian character; the most exalted aspirations can aim at nothing higher” (Reflecting Christ, p. 100).
SO WHAT?
Most everyone grows up in a family of some type. Some may be thrilled with who their parents are and where they live. Others may wonder why they are stuck with so little. How an agent of the kingdom chooses to live should not be determined by where they live or who they live with Jesus gave clear guidelines about how we should treat everyone. Check out Luke 14:13, 14. We shouldn’t look on the outward appearance to determine how we treat others.
When we look at other people, we can’t see what’s in their mind. While their family life might seem foreign to us, their relationship with our Father in heaven makes them part of the family of the King. As children of the same family, God’s people are going to have personality traits that vary, but their standing in the family is the same.
All God’s children are equal in His eyes. How we interact with those in our earthly family and Christian family should be determined by what the Bible tells us. We can’t count on our feelings to show us what to do. Nor can we base our actions on how the people around us are treating others.
- Galatians 5:22, 23 lists the fruits of the spirit. What does the phrase “fruit of the spirit” mean?
- How do you know if someone is a brother or sister in Christ?
- Is your family perfect?
- Is God’s family on earth perfect?
- Do you see things in your church that upset you? How can realizing that God’s family on earth is not perfect help you deal with problems in your church?
Match the text with the correct phrase.
Exodus 20:5
Luke 18:16 (NIV)
Matthew 7:11
Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)
John 3:16
- “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
- “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
- “But Jesus called them to Him and said, Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God.”
- “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
- “Don't bow down to them [idols] and don't serve them because I am God, your God, and I'm a most jealous God, punishing the children for any sins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation of those who hate me.
Matthew 7:11, 12 (New International Version)
“‘If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.’”
Luke 6:30-32 (Amplified Bible)
“Give away to everyone who begs of you [who is in want of necessities], and of him who takes away from you your goods, do not demand or require them back again.
“And as you would like and desire that men would do to you, do exactly so to them. If you [merely] love those who love you, what quality of credit and thanks is that to you? For even the [very] sinners love their lovers (those who love them).”
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME?
God hasn’t put us in a family situation that is unfamiliar to Him. We have all been born into a less-than-perfect life, but nothing we are facing is happening for the first time on this earth. There have been others who have lived through similar experiences. The Bible is full of stories of people who have gone through difficult family lives.
When Jesus walked on the earth, He had lots to say about how we should get along with others. In the Bible we learn the steps we should take when we don’t agree with those around us.
>>>Overlook an offense—Proverbs 19:11; Proverbs 12:16: Colossians 3:13.
>>> Talk it out—Matthew 18:15; Galatians 6:1-3.
>>> Get help to know what to say—Proverbs 15:1; Ephesians 4:29.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
How do we look at the people around us? We’ve looked closely at the concept of family and at a variety of families. Now, what about our extended family? Do we see them as children of God also?
- What widow can you think of in the Bible? What was she able to do to help her family? How was God able to use her?
- What widower can you think of in the Bible? What was he able to do to help his family? How was God able to use him?
- What person can you think of who married again after the death of his or her husband or wife? What were they able to do to help their family? How was God able to use them?
- What grandfathers can you think of? What were they able to do for God?
- What grandmothers can you think of? What were they able to do for God?
- How can God use you as an agent of His kingdom in your home? What are you able to do for your family?