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b'READ: JOHN 1:12; GALATIANS 4:4-7; COLOSSIANS 1:9-14\\n\\n\\n\\nImagine you were royalty\\u2026and didn\\u2019t know it. Here\\u2019s the scene: you were kidnapped as a baby. Then, after years and years, your family finds you! But even after they do, you\\u2019re not sure how to live like royalty. You\\u2019re offered a place to live in the palace, but you\\u2019re afraid of the change, so you opt to keep on living in an old shack. Your parents, the king and queen, even bring you beautiful new clothes, but you decide not to wear them and choose to keep wearing your dirty, raggedy clothing. Wouldn\\u2019t this be strange?\\n\\n\\n\\nYet, as Christians, we sometimes live out a story like this. When we enter a relationship with Jesus, we become royalty. We are adopted into God\\u2019s family as His beloved children. Our Father is a King\\u2014and not just any king, but the King of kings (1 Timothy 6:15-16).\\n\\n\\n\\nBut sometimes, we forget that we\\u2019ve joined Jesus\\u2019s glorious kingdom of light and justice. We\\u2019re tempted to go back to our old, sinful ways of living\\u2014to move away from the love God has for us and believe old lies, even if we now know those lies aren\\u2019t true. Sometimes, we fall into believing we are worthless, insignificant, unlovable, or just plain bad. We\\u2019re tempted to run away from the rest God freely gives us and the royalty Jesus bestows on us, instead choosing things that reflect the world\\u2019s sin-broken system: things like greed, power-grabbing, hatred\\u2026the list goes on. Simply put, sometimes we forget to embrace the new life Jesus has given us. We act as if we don\\u2019t know we\\u2019re children of the King.\\n\\n\\n\\nBut, when we run to those old lies and dress ourselves in them like dirty rags, let us remember our true identity: we are children of God, His beloved heirs. We can know that we are infinitely valuable to God because Jesus died and rose again to save us and bring us near to Him. Whenever we stray from the goodness He has for us, Jesus pursues us and guides us home (Luke 15:1-7). What He says about us is true, and His Holy Spirit empowers us to receive these truths and live more and more like Jesus\\u2014reflecting our beloved and royal identity as children of God. \\u2022 A. W. Smith\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 In what areas of your life do you struggle to embrace your new life in Jesus? Consider taking a moment to talk to Him about this. (Romans 13:12-14; Colossians 3:1-17)\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 Read Luke 15:20-24. We all struggle with sin and stray from God\\u2019s good ways. When we confess and turn away from our wrongdoing and come to God, how does God receive us?\\n\\n\\n\\nNow you are no longer a slave but God\\u2019s own child. And\\u2026his heir. Galatians 4:7 (NLT)'