As Christians, it can be easy to forget that we have been adopted into God's family. This adoption has profound spiritual consequences that we may not always consider.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church comments on this reality in its section on the Our Father:
We can adore the Father because he has caused us to be reborn to his life by adopting us as his children in his only Son: by Baptism, he incorporates us into the Body of his Christ; through the anointing of his Spirit who flows from the head to the members, he makes us other "Christs."
St. Cyril of Jerusalem puts it this way: "God, indeed, who has predestined us to adoption as his sons, has conformed us to the glorious Body of Christ. So then you who have become sharers in Christ are appropriately called 'Christs.'"
God is not a distant deity who enjoys smiting his subjects, or who desires slaves. Instead, God wants to engage in a familial relationship with us.
This should be a cause for joy and consolation, especially if our own family is broken. God loves us and chose us before the world began. He wants to adopt us.
When our own family rejects us or abandons us, God is there to be with us and cover us with his love.
Family responsibilities
One thing to keep in mind is that incorporation into God's family does come with some responsibilities.
The Catechism explains that our adoption requires that we strive to follow God's will in our lives:
The free gift of adoption requires on our part continual conversion and new life. Praying to our Father should develop in us two fundamental dispositions:
First, the desire to become like him: though created in his image, we are restored to his likeness by grace; and we must respond to this grace.
Second, a humble and trusting heart that enables us "to turn and become like children": for it is to "little children" that the Father is revealed.
God is a generous and loving Father, who cares for his children and wants the best for them.
Being part of God's family is a good thing, though just as in any family, we have responsibilities and are invited to love God in return for his generosity to us.
