too long

It has been too long! I never thought I would be one of those people who start a blog and then let it sit silent for months on end. Well, I am that guy now. It's like a website that hasn't been updated since the first week it was launched, seems almost completely useless. Well, if you have given up on waiting to hear from me I understand, but if not, here is a what is swimming around in my head this morning.

I am getting ready to go preach to maybe 70 people this morning a message of hope that has been less than "life changing," for most Christians I know. It's a message of belonging from Romans chapter 8. The big question being asked is, "what do we have in Christ?" What does God's sanctifying work in our lives leave us with?

belonging, adoption, inheritance, honor and glory...

I am struck, in particular, by the language Paul uses as he is introducing the concept of, "Children of God." He uses a phrase that stands out to me...

"Those who walk in the Spirit have not been give a spirit of fear, but a spirit of adoption."

I love that he sets fear and adoption as oppositional forces in this passage. We all need to belong, be part of something, be chosen, and feel connected. When a child is homeless, or has no family, they feel lost, insecure, and full of fear. It will likely impact the way that child views the entire world. But a child with a loving, family to belong to, live with, receive and give love to, the world is right.

As justified, sanctified believers, we have been given a spirit of adoption. We belong to God, He has chosen us to be part of His eternal family. That work He does is not just a formality, no God puts His money where His mouth is. The full inheritance of Christ goes right along with it! We don't just get a piece of the pie, we get the whole freaking pie. We get power, peace, hope, salvation, etc. etc. etc.

How many of us as Christians are setting aside this incredible gift for something so worthless as, "our own lives," we are living, most of us, a shell of the life that is offered to us in unhindered relationship with the father. We have, due to the ongoing sanctifying work of the holy spirit in our lives, the opportunity to live in perfect relationship with God once more. Yeah, perfect, just like Adam and Eve once enjoyed, we can get that back, we can be totally free from the one thing that blocks our connection from him, that being the sin of selfishness. When we surrender, releasing our lives to His power, setting our minds on the Spirit, and allowing him to purge our lives, conforming us into His image, we set ourselves on a path toward unhindered relationship on this earth.

This morning I take hope and refuge in that thought... won't you as well?