Family

Download: Audio

Click to read the Sermon.

 

Scripture: Galatians 3:23 – 29

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Read more…

Looking to Sunday

by Elaine Poproski

John 1:12 reads this way: To all who received [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave power [other translations read the right] to become children of God.

What does that mean? – to be God’s child? I don’t imagine it’s a new idea for most of us reading this article. Most of us have probably, on more than one occasion, used parent language when referencing God. Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we begin by saying, “Our Father who is in heaven…” Some of us are drawn to the mother image of God such as the mother hen of Matthew’s gospel (Mt. 23:37). Even those of us who’s own life experience makes parental metaphors for God challenging, we can’t escape this whole theme of being God’s child; it’s there all through Scripture, from beginning to end.

I’m fortunate that I had good parents. They weren’t perfect, but they were good. One of the best things about my parents was that I could count on them no matter what. They never gave up on me. They were always willing to welcome me home, no matter how far away I’d run or how long I’d been gone. (I think I was two the first time I ran away. I went with my brother, who was a couple years older than me. It was probably his idea. Apparently we’d decided to go to Grandma’s house, which was a challenge given that she lived in Richmond, BC and we lived in Waterloo, Ontario. Obviously we never made it to Grandma’s. We probably just walked up the street a few houses and came home.)

When I think about what it means to be a child of God, I think about being welcomed no matter what. I think about how extraordinary it is that there’s nothing we can do to make God change his mind about adopting us. Craig Springer writes this about the moment we make the choice to become God’s child: Nothing can ever change [that we belong to God]. The moment can’t be undone by living imperfectly; it can’t be improved upon by achieving perfection. The person who prays the prayer is his, a child of God.[i]

When you think about what it means to be a child of God, what stands out for you? Is there anything specific that you hold on to or rely on? Is there anything in your understanding and experience of being God’s child that might resonate with other people? Do you think other people would benefit from your understanding or from hearing your experience? As you prepare for Sunday, perhaps spend some time reflecting on this whole idea of being God’s child.

————————–

[i] Craig Springer. How to Revive Evangelism. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Reflective, 2021), 189.