Blessed are...

Sons of God

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9

If there is some kind of progression in the Beatitudes, as many have argued, then the end of verse nine could be seen as an anti-climax. Verse eight promises that, if we are pure in heart, we will see God. Many regard this as the most sublime reward, to gaze upon our holy God, to see Him as He really is, and to recognize in His features, the face of Christ. At the side of this beatific vision, to be called ‘sons of God’ seems rather tame.

The problem is that the world has hijacked our terminology and repeated the half-truth until we have believed it. Nowadays, it has become commonplace to be told that we are all children of God. It has become almost heretical to question this perceived wisdom, but we must. The truth is that, although we were created as God’s children, by our willful disobedience we fell from grace. Adam and Eve were ejected from the Garden,[1] in a story that is equally our own. Estranged from God, His image within them defaced, our spiritual ancestors lost their birthright. Sharing their fate, participants in their rebellion, we have no business claiming kinship with the God whose laws we have consistently rejected.

Or, rather, that would be the case, apart from Jesus. Justified through faith, we now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.[2] Now, “to those who have received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”[3] we are no longer slaves to sin. “We are sons of God.”[4] we are heirs of the promises, but we are also inheritors of the responsibilities – not the least of which is to be bearers of the peace Christ died to give.

Seeing God is one thing. Seeing Him as His child is quite another. By grace, we are restored to what we were always intended to be. There can be no higher privilege than to be known as sons and daughters of God.

Father,
Like the Prodigal, I too have wandered far from Your love.
I have traded the privilege of belonging for a liberty that only left me enslaved.
But how great is the love that You have lavished upon me in Christ,
for You have called me, and by grace I have come.
In the name of Jesus.
Amen.


[1] Genesis 3:23
[2] Romans 5:1
[3] John 1:12
[4] Romans 8:14