To all who did receive him . . . [Jesus] gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12
In 1859, Joshua Abraham Norton declared himself Emperor of the United States. Norton had made—and lost—his fortune in San Francisco shipping, but he wanted a new identity: America’s first emperor. When the San Francisco Evening Bulletin printed “Emperor” Norton’s announcement, most readers laughed. Norton made pronouncements aimed at correcting society’s ills, printed his own currency, and even wrote letters to Queen Victoria asking her to marry him and unite their kingdoms. He wore royal military uniforms designed by local tailors. One observer said Norton looked “every inch a king.” But of course, he wasn’t. We don’t get to make up who we are.
Many of us spend years searching for who we are and wondering what value we possess. We flail, trying to name or define ourselves, when only God can truly tell us the truth about who we are. And, thankfully, He calls us His sons and daughters when we receive salvation in His Son, Jesus. “Yet to all who did receive him,” John writes, “he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). And this identity is purely a gift. We are His beloved “children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision . . . but born of God” (v. 13).
God gives us our name and our identity in Christ. We can stop striving and comparing ourselves to others, because He tells us who we are.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
INSIGHT
- How do you know you’re chosen by God?
- How does being His child help you understand your true identity?
The Gospels are witnesses to the life and work of Jesus during His incarnation on earth. However, three of the four gospels begin with discussions of John the Baptist (Mark 1:1–8; Luke 1:8–25, 57–80; John 1:6–13). Here, in John 1:6–13, he’s described as a “witness to the light” (v. 8), but it’s made clear that he himself was not that light—Jesus was. Later, in 3:27–30, John the Baptist himself corrected any misconceptions that he was the Messiah. Using the metaphor of a wedding, he affirmed that he was not the bridegroom but the “friend who attends the bridegroom” (v. 29). Today, this is what we would call the best man. In Jesus’ words, there “is no one greater than John” (Luke 7:28). He still, however, wasn’t the Messiah. Jesus was.
PRAYER
God, I know that I’m Yours. Help me feel confidence in knowing that I’m born of You—a child of the King. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: JOHN 1:6-13 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: 2 Kings 24-25; John 5:1-24
