The Meaning of Life: Who Are We? — We Are Children of God

In our investigation of the meaning of life we asked: Who are we? We’ve delved into a number of responses. But one answer we haven’t investigated is this: Those of us who believe in Jesus as God’s Son become members of God’s household.

As we discussed previously, God is a God of love. In fact He exists not only as one being, but also as a community of three: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Before the universe was created, God was all there was. The Trinity existed in perfect harmony and love. So right from the start we see a hierarchy of family order and an emphasis on family and mutual love.

But it doesn’t stop there. In Romans 8:14 (NLT), Paul says: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” So God thinks of us as his children. And everywhere in the Bible we hear the words “God the Father.” (As an aside, those who would change this to gender-neutral language do great violence to the text and to the message of familial love and harmony.)

What about Jesus? Paul calls Jesus our elder brother (Romans 8:29). And because we are all brothers and sisters of Jesus, all believers are brothers and sisters to all other believers. In 1 Timothy 5:1-2 (NLT), Paul gives instructions for relationships within the church: “Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers. 2 Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.”

When Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he emphasized that a church needs true doctrine and rules, just as a household needs rules by which to function. In 1 Timothy 3:14-15 (NLT), he says: “14 I am writing these things to you now, even though I hope to be with you soon, 15 so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.”

The familial language is astounding. Think about it, the Creator whose universe spans 93 billion light-years across, wants us for his family! For God’s household. If this isn’t a God of love, then what is?

So who are we? When we become believers in Christ, we become part of God’s holy family, children of God, brother to Jesus. And that is good news, indeed.

Next time, we’ll look at how Buddhism and Hinduism answer the question: Who are we?