[God] planned . . . that [you] should
be adopted as his own [child].
—Ephesians 1:5
I asked my friend Rex how he felt about having been adopted.
“I feel special,” he said.
“Have you ever wondered who your real parents are?” I asked.
“These are my real parents,” he said. “They wanted to adopt a baby. There were many to choose from—and they chose me.”
You are special. God looked at you and said, “I have called you by name, you are mine” (Is 43:1).
That happened before you were born. “Long ago, even before he made the world, he loved you and chose you, and destined you to be adopted as his child” (Eph 1:4–5).
He is your real father—your “Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15).
God chose you long
before you chose him.