Evening, June 23, adapted from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

“Waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons…” – Romans 8:23

Even in this world Christians are God’s children, but men cannot discern it, except by observing behavior and morality. The adoption is not completed, the children are not yet openly declared.

Among the Romans a man might adopt a child, and keep the adoption private for a long time: but there was a second adoption in public; when the child was brought before the constituted authorities his former garments were taken off, and the father who took him to be his child gave him fine clothing suitable to his new condition of life. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be.” We are not yet arrayed in the apparel which befits the royal family of heaven; we are wearing in this flesh and blood just what we wore as the sons of Adam; but we know that “when he shall appear” who is the “first-born among many brethren,” we shall be like him, we shall see him as he is. Cannot you imagine that a child taken from the lowest ranks of society, and adopted by a Roman senator, would say to himself, “I long for the day when I shall be publicly adopted. Then I shall leave off these commoner’s garments, and be robed as becomes my senatorial rank?” Happy in what he has received, for that very reason he cries out to get the fulfilment of what is promised him.

So it is with us today. We are waiting till we shall put on our proper garments, and shall be manifested as the children of God. We are young nobles, and have not yet worn our crowns. We are young brides, and the marriage day is not yet come, and by the love our Spouse bears us, we are led to long and sigh for the bridal morning. Our very happiness makes us cry out after more; our joy, like an overflowing spring, longs to well up like an Icelandic geyser, leaping to the skies, and we feel like bursting within our spirit as we desire to be changed in our body in public display to match our transformation within.