The NIV 365 Day Devotional

Royal Family

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you.
20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

John 14:16–17, 20

You are a member of God’s royal family.

Read.

Somehow, in a way that we can’t fully understand, God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit exist as the Three in One. They are three distinct persons, yet one and the same in substance. While separate, they’re also in and among each other. Love, thoughts and goodness flow freely between them. It’s the most wonderful of families. And it seems that God wants us to be a part of it.

When telling his disciples about the Holy Spirit, Jesus said: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth . . . On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:16–17, 20).

“You are in me, and I am in you.” That sounds a lot like the closeness that’s within the family of the Trinity.

Think.

What does this overwhelming truth mean? For one thing, it means that God didn’t just take care of our sins so that we could be “clean.” He had much bigger intentions. He wanted us as a part of his family. It means that somehow Jesus is in us and we are in Jesus. And the Holy Spirit is in us too. It means that God wants closeness.

Live.

So how does this play out in our lives? People have wondered about that question for ages. Ask God to show you what it means to have that intimate of a connection with him. He will show you what it means for you.

One thing is certain: The reality that you’re part of God’s family should change the way you live. Like sitting on an oil field but never drilling down, you’re a member of the royal family, yet you sometimes live like you’re unloved. But that simply isn’t true. You are loved. You’ve been brought into the most wonderful family of all.

Write a prayer below, asking God to show you what it looks like for you to live as a son or daughter of the King.

Taken from Read. Think. Live.