Victoria Osteen - Encouragement for an Exceptional Life

I have a good friend named Jim, who Ive known for many years. Jim told me a story one day that has stayed in my heart ever since. Its the story of when he met his baby sister for the first time. Jim was eight years old. He had been an only child for quite some time, and he was incredibly excited about having a sister. Finally the day came when his father showed up at school and took him out of class to head to the hospital. As his father drove through the streets of the town, parked in the parking lot, and then walked Jim down the long hallways of the hospital, Jims stomach was rumbling with anticipation. They came to a stop in front of a large nursery window. Jim peered through the glass and saw rows of little babies all bundled up like burritos in their bassinets. A nurse looked up and recognized Jims father. She smiled and walked out of the nursery, right up to Jim, and bent down to his level. She put her hand on his shoulder and said, Thats your baby sister right there, as she pointed out which baby belonged to his family. As Jim saw her for the first time, his face lit up with joy. There, at last, was his baby sister.

Later that day, recognizing how meeting his sister had made such a strong impression on his son, Jims father decided to tell Jim about the day that he was born. He sat down on the sofa right next to his precious boy. He looked into his eyes, making sure he had Jims full attention, and said, Jim, when you were born, your mother and I looked through a large nursery window at all the babies, kind of like you and I did today. But something different happened. The nurse told us, You can have any baby in this nursery that you want. We looked at all those babies and we chose you.

You see, Jim is adopted. He didnt know it until that moment. But his father wanted to communicate something very important that day. He wanted him to know this truth: Jim, you were chosen to be our son. You are so valuable and important to us that we handpicked you to be a part of our family.

Throughout his life, Jims father always made sure Jim knew how much he was loved and how grateful they were that he was in their family.

That is what your Heavenly Father wants you to know today. You are chosen. Ephesians 1 describes Gods great love for you. It says that before the foundation of the world, it pleased God to adopt you as His very own child. He looked through the corridors of time and knew you by name. He handpicked you and brought you into His family through Jesus Christ. He didnt have to adopt you. God chose to adopt you because it pleased Him to call you His own.