The Father's Desire

Last week I wrote about how constant the plans of the Lord are. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is the Lord and he does not change. He is loving us with an everlasting love. 
 
“I myself said, “‘How gladly would I treat you as sons and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me." (Jeremiah 3:19 NIV)
 
This is, I believe, the eternal plan of the Father. In Ephesians 1 Paul writes that, from before the creation of the world, we were meant to be sons and daughters to the Father. Although everything changed for us through the fall, God did not change. His plan remained the same and it does so today, for us.
 
This verse in Jeremiah summarises God's heart for his people: he wants to treat us as sons, he wants us to know that we belong and he wants us to live in the fulness of our inheritance. This is his desire but it seems there is something preventing that desire being fulfilled. 
 
What stops the Father's desire being fulfilled is our independence which is founded on rebellion. We do not come to him and call him 'Father'. He is reaching out to us. Can we respond with an 'Abba' cry in our heart? As we turn and acknowledge him as Father so we are able to walk into the affirmation of our identity, our belonging and our inheritance. We do not have to continue to live as orphans, we can come home. There is an open invitation for you to step into the arms of love.