Earlier this month, for the first time publicly, I posted one of my poems on this blog. It was inspired by something that I have tried to live by for the past year and a half or so, and that is to remember that I am redeemed by a magnificently wonderful God who loves me beyond all comprehension. I have learned that no matter what life throws at us, we can choose to either be defined by the world and by our shortcomings, or we can be defined through Christ Jesus who gave His life because of His great love for us. Personally, I want to choose to be defined through Christ.

This past month, there have been times where I would occasionally take this for granted or I would forget it completely. The truth is that we all struggle and we all face challenges, and that has certainly been true in my life. So far, although it is just the third week of the semester, I am already stressed with so many obligations and other situations in life. Coupled with various twists and turns that have made my days even crazier, it’s sometimes easy for me to take for granted the fact that God has a plan for me and that through Him, I am redeemed.

Since writing my poem at the start of the New Year, my mind has played one song in particular, over and over and over again. It’s an old gospel hymn that serves as a great reminder that I am most certainly loved and redeemed by the one who created me. As I listen to and read the lyrics of, “A Child of the King,” I am reminded that instead of defining myself through my weaknesses, I should constantly define myself as a child of the Most High God.

Once I was clothed in the rags of my sin,
Wretched and poor, lost and lonely within,
But with wondrous compassion the King of all kings,
In pity and love, took me under His wing.

Chorus
Oh, yes, oh, yes, I’m a child of the King
His royal blood now flows in my veins.
And I who was wretched and poor, now can sing,
“Praise God, Praise God, I’m a child of the King.”

Now I’m a child with a heavenly home.
My Holy Father has made me His own.
And I’m cleansed by His blood, And I’m clothed in His love,
And someday I’ll sing with the angels above.

When I listen to this song, I can’t help but realize that my soul was once dead. Without Christ, I am wretched, I am lost, and I am lonely. Without Christ, I am dead.

This past Sunday, at FBC Belton’s College House, we discussed the fact that without Christ we are dead, we have no life. We looked at three examples of people who had died at the time of Jesus. In one situation, Jesus raised a little girl from death who had only been dead for a few minutes. Another was a man who died the day before, and Jesus stopped the funeral and brought him back to life. The third was Lazarus, who had been dead for several days. In each situation, although they were at different stages of decomposition, they were still dead. You can’t be deader than someone else. If you’re dead, you’re dead. And yet, in every single one of those situations, Christ raised them back from death into new life.

This reminds me that no matter how far and how long I stray from God, no matter how long I doubt His plans for me, He can always bring me back to Him. It reminds me that I was once completely dead, and yet He pulled me out of darkness into light.

To me, this causes for celebration. Because He brought me out of the “dominion of darkness,” why should I define myself by anything other than Christ? If I am alive in Him, why should I define myself as wretched, lost, or lonely? Instead I should define myself as a child of the King.

What a wonderful promise that when we choose to follow Christ, we are children of the King of Kings. Far more powerful than any earthly king, God doesn’t have to pay us any attention, and yet He does. He loves us more than we can ever understand. So rather than defining myself as worthless and lost, I am going to proclaim that I am a child of the King. Because the fact is that, yes, I was poor, lost, and completely dead, but with wondrous compassion, Christ pulled me out of darkness, and into life. The blood that He shed on the cross now flows through my veins.

Therefore I am going to keep singing this song at the top of my lungs. I am going to show the world that I am a child of the Almighty, Everlasting King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I am no longer going to define myself as weak, useless, and abandoned. Because I am pursued daily by my Heavenly Father, Abba, my King. I am His and He is mine.

Romans 8:14-16 states, “¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ 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.’ ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (NIV).

How amazing is it that we are called God’s children!? Too often, I don’t take the time to thank Him for loving me so much. It’s a love that I cannot comprehend. No matter how many times I mess up, no matter how many times I fail Him, I know that I can turn to my Father who loves me so much. Because no matter what, I am His child. So that’s how I will choose to define myself, not by my weaknesses and shortcomings, but as His child!

Praise God! Praise God! I’m a child of the KING!

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New International Version. Bible Gateway. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.

Walker, Cindy, 1961, renewal 1989. “A Child of the King.” hymnal.calvarybaptistsv.org. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.

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Child of the King by Mike Allen, Tim Duncan, and Brock Speer

Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin