Let me tell you a story; A long time ago, a much-promised baby was born. Now, when I say much promised, I mean that people talked about his coming 1,000 years before. The nation he was born into was a nation overrun with enemies. His people, who had claimed ownership of the land over 1,000 years before, had been defeated in battle, and the enemy came in and took over.
While all this was going on, even the leaders of his own people had forgotten what they were about. The leaders were more concerned with keeping their power base and not upsetting the status quo. This baby was born into a world of sin, anger, hate, poverty and all the evils of the world.
Yet there was something special about this child. His mother and his adopted father knew that this boy was special. Thirty-three years after his birth, he would show how special he was.
Yes, of course, I am telling the story of Jesus Christ, but did you catch something there. Jesus was adopted. You see, God is his father, but he needed an earthly influence as he grew up. So, when Mary and Joseph married, Jesus became the adopted son of Joseph.
But the wonder doesn't stop there, for you see, by his adoption, we too get to be adopted. Yes, I said adopted.
Let me refer you to Romans 8:14-17. The 15th verse, "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption..." You see, through faith in Jesus Christ we are adopted into the family of God.
This adoption is instigated, if you will, by the Holy Spirit and sealed in blood by the Son of God.
The thing about being in a family is it means we are no longer alone in the world. We have people to turn to and to go to. We don't have to fear the dark, because we follow the Light of the world. If we believe in Christ as our savior, we are children of God.
But family needs to be together, and for the followers of Christ, that is what church is all about. We need to support and help one another.
Family is there in the good and the bad times. Family helps make things right. Family always has your back. This is what the church is supposed to be, Family. But it can't be your family if you are not there.
The Holy Spirit calls us to become part of the body of Christ. It calls us to take our place in the family. But unless you participate, you can't know how wonderful our God is. So, get to church.
God has never ever wanted any of his children to be lost or to suffer. The reason he sent his son is to gather the lost and bring them home. We are those that are and were lost. If you know Christ, you know what it means to be Christ, we have a two-fold task. First, we need to be in church and learning more about our Father and our family. Second, we need to be searching for our lost brothers and sisters to bring them into the family.
See you in church.
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Editor's note: This is a regular series featuring area religious leaders writing about faith, family and community. To participate or suggest a church, contact us at news@darnews.com or 573-785-1414.