Grace and greetings.
This evening's service was about our adoption into God's gracious gift of life. Here are some of my thoughts and comments.
Adoption
Galatians 4.4-7
The Sunday after Christmas is always the lowest in church attendance, in any church throughout the “Western Church”. With the four weeks of Advent, expectations are set high for Christmas morning, both in the church and at home. Many times, if not all times, the expectations are ever met. We go through the waiting of the Christ child to be born, and then we can go back to our regular lives. We hope that Christmas will turn our lives around, fulfill hopes and dreams of a better life, better situations, for our families and ourselves. We pray for World peace to break out upon God’s Creation; we pray that all those who are sick will be healed, and all the wrongs will be made right. But the question we need to ask ourselves, during all this time of preparation, did we give birth to the Christ child in our own lives?
Paul is calling the church to understand the gift that God gave the world that first Christmas, that day “when the fullness of time had come.” We know the story, that Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem, and Jesus was born. We know that he grew up, lived, taught, loved, ached, and died in our flesh, as a human being. Yet this same Jesus calls us, and continues to call us to be in a relationship with God. Not just a relationship where we are strangers passing on the street; or as best friends who send each other a Christmas card each year; but in a relationship with God that fulfills the promise that we are God’s Children. We too are the heirs of what God has promised to all, throughout the generations of prophets, writings and teachings. We have been adopted into God. We are the daughters and sons of the Living God, the God of All Creation.
Does a child know when she is born? Does an infant know he is being adopted? We learn as we grow up who we are, and more importantly, whose we are. We learn that as we grow in the spirit of God, we learn that God is our Parent, one that Jesus called Abba, one that we too can call Father, Creator of All. It is out of the womb of God creation came about. It is through the womb of God, by water and spirit that we are reborn into the Spirit of God. But again, I will ask the question of the day; did we give birth to the Christ child into our own lives?
We have been through all the pageants, plays, music and wonderment of the season. Now we move into the New Year, preparing for the New Hope that God gives us, but do we really take on the complete understanding that we are God’s Children. We are adopted into God. We are no longer strangers, we are no longer slaves but we are the Children of God. We are the sisters and brothers of the Christ who has redeemed and adopted us so we might enjoy the same rights and privileges and obligations of being in God’s family.
Only you can answer the question, only you are able to live out the answer, one way or another; Is Christ born again in you?
Galatians 4.4-7
The Sunday after Christmas is always the lowest in church attendance, in any church throughout the “Western Church”. With the four weeks of Advent, expectations are set high for Christmas morning, both in the church and at home. Many times, if not all times, the expectations are ever met. We go through the waiting of the Christ child to be born, and then we can go back to our regular lives. We hope that Christmas will turn our lives around, fulfill hopes and dreams of a better life, better situations, for our families and ourselves. We pray for World peace to break out upon God’s Creation; we pray that all those who are sick will be healed, and all the wrongs will be made right. But the question we need to ask ourselves, during all this time of preparation, did we give birth to the Christ child in our own lives?
Paul is calling the church to understand the gift that God gave the world that first Christmas, that day “when the fullness of time had come.” We know the story, that Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem, and Jesus was born. We know that he grew up, lived, taught, loved, ached, and died in our flesh, as a human being. Yet this same Jesus calls us, and continues to call us to be in a relationship with God. Not just a relationship where we are strangers passing on the street; or as best friends who send each other a Christmas card each year; but in a relationship with God that fulfills the promise that we are God’s Children. We too are the heirs of what God has promised to all, throughout the generations of prophets, writings and teachings. We have been adopted into God. We are the daughters and sons of the Living God, the God of All Creation.
Does a child know when she is born? Does an infant know he is being adopted? We learn as we grow up who we are, and more importantly, whose we are. We learn that as we grow in the spirit of God, we learn that God is our Parent, one that Jesus called Abba, one that we too can call Father, Creator of All. It is out of the womb of God creation came about. It is through the womb of God, by water and spirit that we are reborn into the Spirit of God. But again, I will ask the question of the day; did we give birth to the Christ child into our own lives?
We have been through all the pageants, plays, music and wonderment of the season. Now we move into the New Year, preparing for the New Hope that God gives us, but do we really take on the complete understanding that we are God’s Children. We are adopted into God. We are no longer strangers, we are no longer slaves but we are the Children of God. We are the sisters and brothers of the Christ who has redeemed and adopted us so we might enjoy the same rights and privileges and obligations of being in God’s family.
Only you can answer the question, only you are able to live out the answer, one way or another; Is Christ born again in you?
Peace and blessings.
1 comment:
Lovely post. thank you for sharing your thoughts.
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