What type of God's child are you?

In our world today, we hear a lot of people say "I am a child of God" every time they are being asked of their identity. What makes you a child of God? Oh, well, I was born a christian and I was born again at so and so age. Also, I got baptized and work in my local parish voluntarily. That's awesome! Glory be to God. So I ask, "What type of God's child are you?" The reply I get: "What? What do you mean? Is there a distinction or levels in being a child of God?" My short one word answer to their question: "YES."

Just like every child has a position, be it the first born, the favorite child, or the most disobedient child in a family, we also have different positions in the sight of God. What distinguishes one child of God from the other? 

1) The child who fears God

As a child, born and raised in Nigeria, my parents taught me how to be a good citizen of my country. They taught me to be respectful, honor others, be thankful, be attentive to instructions, and to be obedient. The truth is that I learned some of these in the hard way. If I did anything contrary to them, I would, without a doubt, be punished. The fear of getting punished motivated me to obeying every one of those values.  No wonder the bible says in  Proverbs 13:24 that "He the spareth his rod hated his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes." My parent ensured that part of the scripture was fulfilled. 

So what does fearing someone do to one's life? Or why does it pay to fear someone? It is important to know that one cannot fear another person who has no authority over him or her. One can only fear someone who is superior. Fearing someone allows a person take appropriate action in doing things that will not offend or go against the wish of the person that is being feared. It also helps an individual respect the superior one. So why is it important to fear God? It is important to fear him because according to the bible in Ecclesiastes 12:13, it is our duty to fear him. So I ask the question: "What type of God's child are you?" Are you the type fulfilling his or her duty? 

2) The child who honors God's prophet

A young man who once served as a minister under an anointed-filled prophet for many years. God anointed this prophet so much that through him, God purified the water of a city, raised a dead son, multiplied a little oil into many, and raised a dead man even after his death. One day, a great and honorable commander of an army visited this prophet for healing; because he was a leper. After God had healed this man through the prophet, he offered to give the prophet some gifts but the prophet refused to accept the gifts.  Since the prophet didn't accept this gift, the army commander decided to take his leave and head back to his place of residence; but on his way back, the prophet's servant, the young man who served as a minister under the prophet, ran behind him and lied that his master had ordered him to collect some of the gifts from him. Without any hesitation, this army commander joyfully gave him the gifts he requested for. On getting back to the prophet's house, the prophet asked where this servant went but he lied that he had been in the house all day. Because of this lie and dishonoring of the prophet of God, he lived the rest of his life as a leper. 

Why do I tell this story? Many at-times, we as Christians get too comfortable with the head of our denomination and usually end up disrespecting and dishonoring them by our actions and response towards them. According to John 4:44, "Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country." Since this is a known fact, the only way to distinguish one's self from others is to respect and honor God's prophet. You have to respect and honor the anointed of God at all times. This is what David did in 1 Samuel 26. Doing this will cause God to smile at you and when God smiles at you everything else will smile at you. 

So I ask the question: "What type of God's child are you?" Are you the type that honors God's prophet or are you like that servant whose act caused him to be a leper for the rest of his life?

3) The child who is a peacemaker

In Matthew 5:9, Jesus, teaches us that for us to be considered as a child of God, we have to be peacemakers. What does it mean to be a peacemaker? According to the dictionary, a peacemaker is a person, group, or nation that tries to make peace, especially by reconciling parties who disagree, quarrel, or fight. This is what God expects from everyone who calls himself or herself a child of God. It is very unfortunate and heartbreaking to find those who call themselves God's child fighting and quarreling with one another, even in the church. If the one who,  according to Matthew 5:14, is suppose to be the light of the world is not shining, but causing quarrels and starting fights, how can it shine to the world? It is often said that "you cannot give what you do not have." 

So I ask the question: "What type of God's child are you?" Are you a peacemaker or the one who starts quarrels and fights or encourages quarrels and fights? 

4) The child who loves his enemy 

According to Matthew 5: 43-47, it is expected of us as children of God to not only love our brethren, friends, and those who love us, but those who hate us also. In order words, when someone dislikes you or hates you, you should repay the dislike and hatred with love. Is this an easy thing to do? No, but it is what God expects from his children. In the little time I have spent on earth, I have discovered that Christians, while praying, tend to be more aggressive in praying against their enemies than they tend to be when they worship God. It is true that some people do not want the best for you; as a matter of fact, some would rather have you dead. Notwithstanding, there are other prayers that can be prayed against such people. A good example of this kind of prayer is found in Acts 7:60, and Luke 23:34. We can also pray that God will change the hearts of those who despise us as children of God or as an individual. A pastor once said that "if you have a boss who dislikes or hates you, write his name on a note card, put it in your pocket, and pray for him every time. Sooner or later, this boss will fall in love with you." Also, it is impossible to love someone you are not living in peace with. 

So I ask the question: "What type of God's child are you?" Are you the type that love and pray from your enemies or the type that cannot wait to pray against your enemy? 

5) The child who can give everything to God

Giving our all to God tends to be a debatable issue for some Christians. Why this is the case, I do not know. Discussing topics such as giving tithes, offering, first fruits, etc always, or most of the time, end up in arguments and disagreements. Some say that is only applicable to the old testament and not to our generation. Fair enough I'll say. Will we, as Christians, have no problem repeating the same act that was done in Acts 4: 32-37? This happened in the new testament right? Of course. Here, Christians came together, sold all they had, and divided it evenly within one another. If asked to do this today, to sell all you have and bring the money into God's house, will you be willing to take that step? Think about it for sometime. I believe questions such as: how will I pay my bills, put gas into my car, feed myself and the family, have fun with friends, etc will run across our mind. It is well. But this did not happen in the old testament. If these people, Christians like us, could sell all they had and brought the money into the house of the Lord, I am sure they will have no problem giving tithes, offering, first fruits, etc if they were born in the days of Moses, or the old testament days. 

So I ask the question: "What type of God's child are you?" Are you like Joses who is willing to sell his land and bring the money to God (Acts 4: 36-37), or are you like the couple, Ananias and Sapphira, who were not willing to give their all to God? 

With all these being said, just as God said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness," we should be assured that the grace of God is sufficient for us to be the child He wants us to be, and not the child we want to be.