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Read: Ephesians 1:1-5
Listen: Ephesians 1

In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. Ephesians 1:4-5

In ancient Rome, the practice of exposure is common. After a child is born, the baby is presented to the father. If the father accepts the child, he lifts the baby into his arms. If he rejects the child—often due to poverty, disability or even gender—the child is abandoned. Many of these children are left to die or sold into slavery. Some believers in Ephesus likely know this kind of rejection firsthand. Paul reminds the Ephesians that what is most true about them is not their past rejection, but their acceptance in Christ. So, adoption is a powerful theme in Paul’s letter. Through Jesus, God chooses them, welcomes them and adopts them into his family. Their identity is no longer defined by what others did to them, but by what God has done for them.

Many of us carry wounds of rejection—the parent who left, the spouse who walked out, the friends who disappeared. These experiences can shape how we see ourselves. But Paul redirects our focus. Our new identity is found in God’s love and acceptance. We were once dead in our sins, but God has made us alive in Christ.  When we place our faith in Jesus, we are adopted into God’s family and called his children. When we know who we are in Christ, it reshapes how we live and how we relate to others.

TODAY: Reread Ephesians 1. In your journal, list every word Paul uses to describe who you are in Christ. Or download the “A to Z” list bookmark HERE.