Children of God
Thanks be to God that 2020 is and 2021 is about to be history! You and I are about to be launched into 2022, but how will we navigate the trials and disappointments we are sure to face this year without getting lost? The answer is in these words from the beautiful prologue to St. John’s Gospel:
“The true light, which enlightens everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept Him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.”
John 1: 9-13, NRSV
“Power to become children of God.” The key to having a great 2022 is to recognize what it means to be children of God.
Several weeks ago in his Daily Word for Nov. 15, the Rev. Alex Graham reminded us that our true identity is to be “a child of God who will one day be transformed into the image of Christ,” but what does this mean for us today? Doesn’t it mean, in part, that we have a new attitude about life? Once, we were children of the world, but now, by virtue of our baptism, we have the power to become children of God. Once, our lives were about how much we could get out of life; now, our lives are about how much we can contribute to life. Once, we cowered in fear before demons—addictions, failure, rejection, hopelessness, loss. Now, we can be victorious over life through the presence of Christ in us. God wants to give us the power to have true life, the power of new and abundant life in Christ, so do not settle for being half-Christian—half in the world and half in the Spirit—learn to live for Christ!
Learn to live for Christ—to do what He wants us to do, following His will and plan for our life. How do we do this? We read the Bible and allow its truth to shape our lives, and through prayer and fellowship with other believers.
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face… And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
Helen H. Lemmel, 1922
