"But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." - John 1:12
There’s been an awful lot of talk in the news lately about “rights.” Women’s rights, gay rights, gun rights, religious freedom rights: this buzz word has been front and center during the entire presidential campaign, and has continued into the beginning of our new administration. Democrats, Republicans, atheists, and Christians have all used the word “rights” in an attempt to gain political advantage. I can’t speak to many of these individuals, but today, I’d submit to you, my Christian friends, that the world’s view of “rights” is markedly different from the view that we should take.
Believers in Christ have received a right that cannot be taken away from us: “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12, emphasis mine). The earthly rights that our government has acknowledged may someday be denied us, but this right to be God’s children is permanent, as it was given to us by God Himself. This is the only right that we will carry with us from this life to the next, and as such, it’s the only right that truly matters. And my friends, that right IS ours!
As children of God, our first concern in any circumstance should be to live in a manner worthy of the calling of Christ. 1 John 2:6 says, “whoever abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” With regard to His rights, how did Jesus behave?
In Philippians 2, the apostle Paul gives us the clearest of example of how Jesus would have responded to this question:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Jesus Christ, who was God Himself, was so unconcerned with His right to be recognized as such that He left the glory of Heaven to come to earth and live as one of us. He who deserved and received the praise of angels left it all and willingly received the scorn of men. And at the end of His earthly life, He submitted to a criminal’s death, in order to save each of us from the death that we deserve.
If we are to be like Christ, we must be willing to lay down our rights, whether real or perceived, for the sake of the gospel. Paul offers himself up as another example. In 1 Corinthians 9, he speaks of the “right” (among others) that he had to be compensated for his ministry among the Corinthians:
But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision...For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them...I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
(excerpted from 1 Corinthians 9:15, 19, 23)
Now don’t get me wrong: I am grateful for the Christians in Washington and around the country who stand up to protect the rights of believers to worship, work, and evangelize freely according to the dictates of their conscience, and for those who do their best to protect the rights of the unborn. In fact, the Bible is replete with instructions to defend the rights of the poor, needy, and helpless among us. But as individual Christians, we were never called to demand our rights; we have been called to be willing to surrender them in order to further the call of the gospel.
As Americans, it’s easy to get caught up in this culture of “our rights” vs. “the other guy.” But as citizens of heaven (Philippians. 3:20) and exiles on this earth (Hebrews 11:13), we would be wise to remember that our most valuable rights are not to be found in the United States or her government, but in our status as children of the Eternal King. So take heart, and know that, whatever happens down here, no one can take that away from us.
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture used in "Joy in the Morning" is taken from the English Standard Version.
