I read this article late last week in the Huffington Post and a few other sources. It is the story of the heir of a 300 million dollar fortune dying in Wyoming from hypothermia. The Huffington Post reports:

“Timothy Henry Gray, Clark’s 60-year-old half great-nephew, was found dead under a Union Pacific Railroad overpass in Evanston, Wyo., on Thursday, NBC News reports. Children who were sledding nearby found Gray’s body.

Temperatures in Evanston, a mining town, had hit a low of 0 in recent days. The coroner said it appears the homeless heir, who could have inherited $19 million of Clark’s $300 million fortune, had died of hypothermia, according to NBC. There was no evidence of foul play.”

This homeless man stood to receive $19 million dollars from a $300 fortune- and he dies alone under a bridge. The article doesn’t say whether the man knew about the inheritance (I assume he didn’t) or why the heir was homeless. The reality is, this homeless man was worth more money than I could imagine and may not have realized it.

Paul writes in Romans 8:14-17:

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

When we surrender our lives to Christ, we are adopted into God’s family. We enjoy the full privileges and benefits of being part of God’s family. It doesn’t matter when we were adopted into the family, or about our past- we are co-heirs with Christ. We receive the full blessing- salvation, redemption, grace, mercy, love and the promise of a life with God. It is already ours.

Far too many people, even Christians, go through life without claiming this truth. We are God’s children! God loves us! Jesus has given his life for us! If we claim this truth, it effects the way we live. We don’t need to live in fear, or worry, or doubt, or shame, or anger, or hatred: We have been made children of God through Jesus Christ: and there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:25-29).

As you begin the New Year- have you claimed your inheritance as children of God? Do you walk each day with confidence that nothing can separate you from the love of God? Have you cried our “Abba, Father” to the One who calls us by name- daughters and sons? My prayer is that each of us will live as children of God filled with the promise of the inheritance that God has already given us through Jesus our brother.