The feeling of belonging is powerful. To know that we are valued and deeply loved is vital to our sense of security and identity. So, today, we are taking time to celebrate the gift of adoption through Christ. Although many of us have wounds from rejection and abandonment of this world, Christ offers us a belonging, rooted in deep familial love, as a child of God. What love the Father has lavished on us to be called His children. This gift offered to each longing heart welcomes us into the family of God and bestows on us the security and certainty of His love for us. Let us praise our heavenly Father, who first loved us.