Love is at the center of the message of
the New Testament:
some
of the language used…
‘beloved’: it
is a term used through-out the Bible,
the
apostle John uses beloved in all 3 of his letters,
as he addresses the readers…
“beloved, I am
writing to you no new commandment…”
“beloved, we are
God’s children…”
“beloved, let us love
one another…”
The apostle Paul is well known for using
kin-ship language
such
as
“brothers
and sisters in Christ…”
John also uses the language of kin-ship to
define us as
So who fits into the category of “children
of God”?
“Children of God” is meant to unite us as one,
a
phrase of unity;
no
matter our differences whether they involve
race, gender, nationality,
age, background,
political views,
or life’s circumstances;
we can all come together as each of us is
a child of God.
Unity
is both a gift and an obligation for the church.
A couple of years ago at seminary,
there was a
discussion about diversity on campus,
some thinking that
there was not enough.
But I did see diversity present.
Each individual brought their own unique
experiences
to the
collective.
There were opportunities to learn from
each other;
and push ourselves
beyond our own comfort zones.
As I looked around the seminary campus
I saw many “children of God”…
Many from other countries…
Korea Ghana Kenya Germany Hungary
each a “Child of God”;
Men and Women, Gay
and Straight,
Married, Divorced, Single, Engaged
each a “Child of God”;
all
ages from 20-something and just out of college to
those over 50, either retired
or searching for a new beginning with a second career
each a “Child of God”;
different denominations
Presbyterian Baptist Lutheran
Methodist Episcopalian
each a “Child of God”.
Categories that divide us change
as you and I
do not look for the differences
but look at each
other as Children of God.
So we may come together in the grace of
God’s light
to see each other
as brothers and sisters.
Take a moment to look at your neighbor and
do not see the differences…
Republican or Democrat,
East Carolina, Chapel Hill, or Duke,
different generations, marital status,
or backgrounds;
see them with
God’s love as another child of God.
So what does the phrase “children
of God” mean?
It is a term for the faithful, those
believers who
know
God’s love and
the experience of
God’s grace in Jesus Christ.
“For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone
who believes in him may not perish,
but may have
eternal life.”
God’s gracious love;
-the
gift of God’s Son in life and death.
One commentary on First John proclaims…
“The
consequence and proof of the love of God
is
being and being called,
children
of God.
The love of God is
described as a gift,
which
means that we do nothing to merit it.”
Since being called children of God is a
gift of God’s love,
since
we did nothing to earn it,
you
and I should not boast about it.
In his institutes John Calvin puts it this
way…
“Boasting about the merits of works
destroys our praise of God for having bestowed righteousness
as well as our
assurance of salvation.”
God’s grace, God’s mercy, God’s
light, is God’s love.
God’s love is God’s gift to us
through Christ.
In understanding what God wants for
us,
the apostle John’s
words give hopeful expectation
what we will
be has not yet been revealed.
What we do know is
this:
when he is revealed, we will be like him,
for we will see him as he is.
There are those 2 words in there
that seem contradictory:
now and not yet.
What we are now and what we will be but are not yet.
Look at it this way, in human terms…
When
we are young, we know we are children and
experience
parental care and love; yet,
you
and I do not understand what it
means
to be children until we are grown.
From First Corinthians chapter 13:
“When
I was a child, I spoke like a child,
I thought like I child, I reasoned like a
child;
when I became an adult, I put an end
to my childish ways.
but then we will see
face to face.
Now I know
only in part; then
I will know fully, even as I have
been fully known.”
I do love that scripture…
For now
we see in a mirror dimly,
but then we will see face to face.
Face
to face, up close and personal;
in
the Greek…
prosopon pros prosopon.
God’s love for us is personal, God
knows us.
We do not yet understand the full meaning
of being
God’s children until the time is fulfilled,
in
eschatological terms, the coming of
God’s heavenly
kingdom.
We do not
have to earn God’s love, yet, as children of God,
we
do have responsibilities.
There is more than just being called
children of God,
it is in the being children of God.
The spiritual awareness of what God
wants for us;
living
as children of God.
Our responsibility is the way we live.
Doing right and avoiding sin is the mark
of God’s children.
Everyone who
does what is right is righteous.
Avoiding sin, we do our best,
however,
because of our human frailty you and I do sin.
Even though we are sinners and sometimes
turn away from God, we are loved.
Believers should never intend to
sin, or
make a habit
of sin;
what
you and I can do -acknowledge
sin and renounce it.
And all who
have this hope in him purify themselves,
just as he is pure.
The impurity John speaks of is the
pollution of sin;
if
we are purified, we are cleansed of sin.
From the beatitudes,
“Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
God has cleansed us through Jesus,
Jesus’
life, death, and resurrection.
Being cleansed, leads me to thoughts about
baptism.
You and I are blessed by
the sacraments
of
baptism and the Lord’s Supper;
they
draw us into unity as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Baptism welcomes us into the
community of faith;
it is
a sign and seal of God’s grace in the forgiveness
of our
sins and the covenant in Christ.
Whether as a child or an adult, baptism
welcomes
each of us into
the family of faith,
to be called a
child of God;
we are made clean
of sin.
As Paul says in the Letter to
the Galatians:
“…in Christ Jesus
you
are all children of God through faith.”
So, going back to those words of now and not yet,
Beloved,
we are God’s children now;
what we will be has not yet been revealed.
You and I are welcomed into the family of
faith,
called
children of God,
our
sins forgiven,
assured
of God’s love,
and
live with hopeful expectation of what is to come.
God’s work is not yet complete.
You and I still have a lot
of growing to do.
Always changing,
always learning,
always becoming,
always reforming,
always hoping…
Love is the commandment of the new
covenant,
the
good news,
redemption
and salvation.
By being children of God, we know love;
by
living as children of God we know
God’s love for us leads us to love one
another.
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