The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. (John 1:9–13 NLT)
What does it mean to be a “child of”?
To be a “child of” is to point to your lineage or to something that defines you.
We see this baked into many of our surnames, none more evident than in Iceland. Rather than maintaining a common surname amongst all family members, your last name is based on your parent and your gender. This means the child of Olaf would be either Olafsson (“Olaf’s son”) or Olafsdóttir (“Olaf’s daughter”). While this is one method of noting lineage through naming conventions, most of us can know something of our ancestors based on our name: to be a Richardson is to know you descend from a Richard, just like being a Smith means you come from a line of blacksmiths or other type of metallurgists.
In the first century when John was written – and continuing through today – Jewish people often refer to themselves as the descendants of Abraham. Another way to say this is they are children of Abraham, generations upon generations removed, of course. In John 1:9–13, there is a subtle subversion taking place regarding this lineage. John describes Jesus as rejected by his own people – the children of Abraham – and goes on to say any who believe and accept Jesus are given the right to become children of God.
There is another piece to being a “child of” – it is also a descriptor of something that defines you. You can be a child of the ’80s (the era you were born), a child of war (the kind of life you’ve lived), a child of Bonhoeffer (the school of thought or theology you follow), and a thousand others. To be a “child of” something is often seen as a defining aspect of who you are as a person. When John writes that we have “the right to become children of God,” he is not just talking about being grafted into a new family; he is describing a new way of living, a rebirth that should be the defining aspect of who we are as people.
What are you a “child of”? Are you living as a child of Abraham, choosing to live under the law, or are you living as a child of God, choosing to live under grace? How does this choice affect your actions – the things you say, the way you treat people, the kinds of things you share online?