I was offended by Jesus the other day. He was having a discussion with the Pharisees in John 8, and he starts talking about his father. He makes some bold statements like, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

When the Pharisees become defensive, they tell Jesus that Abraham is their father. Jesus puts the damper on their defense by telling them, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a liar and a murderer from the beginning and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of all lies.”

In the past, I read these verses and thought, “Yes, the devil is the father of the Pharisees.” But this time it offended me because I realized that the devil was once my father, too. It had never occurred to me that when God adopted me as his daughter, that meant that I was not just an orphan, but I was being adopted from an abusive, hateful father.

I think it is important to understand the role that the devil has in my life. I need to see him as he really is, or I begin to think of sin as just petty things that aren’t that bad. But the reality is that in all sin is a lie—a lie that life is found in fulfilling our own plans and desires. But our sin, in reality, leads us into empty, depressing, unfulfilled lives. It is this lie that starts to destroy me when I buy into it.

But God wants me to know what is true, what is real. He wants to protect me from myself and the lie that my birth father fed me—that my way is better.

And it is amazing to think of what my adopted father did for me. He saw the abuse of the lies that the devil was telling me. He saw that, even though he promised peace and happiness, it only brought me depression, and ultimately death.

Now I get to live in what is real. I don’t have to live in the lies that the world (and the devil) say. I get to find real life, abundant life, on this earth. And in the end, I get to live in a world unstained by sin. I get to see the world unclouded by lies that success, wealth, pleasure, and performance will make me happier.

The Lord really loved me. He did whatever it took to call me his own. He gave up his birth son, his only son, for me.