Archives at Zinester: [Morning by Morning] Romans 8: 15. Morning by Morning. Religion

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Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful Easter celebration. I'm dwelling these days a lot on this tremendous statement by Paul:

15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"

My mentor in this study, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, spends 67 pages on this verse, 38 of which are devoted just to understanding the word "received." It's a wonderful read, but I will be somewhat briefer. How do you receive the Spirit of Adoption, whereby you cry from your heart, "Abba. Father!" ?

Knowing that you belong to Him.

A young man came to me seeking to "get into God." As we visited he shared having been severely abused, taken from his home, and put into eight foster homes before finally arriving in a home where the family, though a bit strict and distant as it seemed to him, did love him and were stable enough to provide for him. He knew, though, that he needed more and was seeking a relationship with God that would help him. He wanted to read the Bible and hear from God, but needed some help in understanding. We spent several hours alone together, as I outlined for him what is in the Bible and how it works. I drove the whole conversation towards this verse, for I knew that his heart ached for this "Spirit of Adoption."

He had a girlfriend with a similar past, who was now living in an exhuberant and loving family where he too spent much time. The two of them came for confirmation, and several people who loved them both joined me in laying hands on them and praying for the Holy Spirit to fill them.

All this has been powerful and positive, and I can see the compassionate hand of God on their lives. It's a priviledge -- a very high one -- to work with people in this way. I saw a survey on job satisfaction the other day, and who do you think are the top three most satisfied workers in the country? Clergy, occupational therapists, and firemen. But the question this word of Paul's raises is this -- has the young man received the Spirit of Adoption whereby he cries "Abba, Father!"

Not quite yet.

Does God love him? Hugely. Has the Holy Spirit entered His life? Absolutely. Is he saved? I'd stake my life on it. You mean there's more? Yes, there is a wonderful promise still ahead for him, the promise that Paul is talking about right here.

The day will come -- and soon, I pray, though the Lord knows timing far better than I -- when he will receive the Holy Spirit's power. He will pray for that experience and God will give it to him, and here is what will happen:

Gently, like a dove, the Holy Spirit will light upon that wounded heart and will brood or nest there, warming him. The shell will give way as the life within stirs, and a new joy, a new compassion will start to flow from him and people all around him will begin to experience ministry. He will rejoice to praise God. Gifts of the Holy Spirit will begin to appear in His mind and life. He will be home, wherever he is, because he will feel the belonging that happens in His Father's house.

That's what to pray for for yourself. You don't take it or fake it, but you pray for it and seek it and ask your Father for it. And you will receive it as sheer gift. This verse can happen for us, just as it did for those first Christians, just as it did for Paul. When the deep and elemental cry wells up in you and you cry out "Abba" to the loving Father who has you up in HIs arms, you'll never again wonder if you belong.