Her life was a lie. Twenty-eight years passed before she discovered the life-shattering truth. In a quest to uncover her family lineage, Raylane Amaral submitted her DNA to a trustworthy ancestry firm. The first result hit her like a freight train: the woman she called “mom” was not her biological mother at all. Then came another revelation which left her questioning everything—she had a brother she never knew about.
The New York Post reported that Raylane contacted her newly discovered brother, who claimed his sister was born the very same day. Surely, she was that baby and reuniting with her real mother was finally on the horizon. Not even close. Raylane and her newfound brother learned that his “sister” had also been mistakenly sent home with the wrong woman, meaning that there had not been one mix-up in the hospital, but two. At last, the web of confusion untwined when the women tracked down their real mothers, while the hospital became trapped in a web of its own when all the families joined together in a lawsuit.
Stories like these are rare nowadays because of safeguards in maternity wards, but it serves as a reminder that human beings with the best intentions sometimes mix up who is who. The postal service occasionally delivers your neighbor’s mail to you. Waitresses sometimes bring the wrong meal to your table. Airports erroneously assign your luggage to someone else. But this is something the Lord will never do, which is why the Scripture says, “But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his’” (2 Tim. 2:19a).
The all-knowing Christ similarly promised, “I know my own and my own know me” (John 10:14b). Paul likewise guaranteed, “But if anyone loves God, he is known by God” (1 Cor. 8:3). The Lord knows every believer by name and has recorded their names with indissoluble ink in the Book of Life (Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5). He will never forget His children—the only thing He forgets are their sins (Heb. 8:12). This is why God tenderly swore, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isa. 49:15-16a).
You are known by God if you know Christ and there is no possibility of any mix-up. The Lord never questions whether or not you are His. You can never slip from His memory or be accidentally mistaken for an unbeliever. The hymn-writer Norman J. Clayton (1903–1992) said it best:
“Jesus, my Lord will love me forever,
from Him no pow’r of evil can sever,
He gave His life to ransom my soul;
Now I belong to Him;
Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
not for the years of time alone,
but for eternity.”
Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, their much-prayed for son, Oliver, and their three dogs. Brandon and Dakota previously served as foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and his Bible Gleanings columns are featured in over sixteen publications throughout Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Indiana. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and an editor at Reforming the Heart.
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