1 John 3: 1-3
“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God.”
This passage is always lifted up lovingly in Sunday School classes. Isn’t it so comforting and happy. Except that I’m not always sure we want to be called children of anyone most of the time.
Certainly I did not in my early 20s, after living across the world, showing everyone what an adult I could be.
Part of being an adult is showing the world that we’ve at least got it all together, in a way that children don’t. We’re in control, on top of it, ready to jump on the opportunity, able to do what we want.
I think part of the frustration for many of us of the last year is suddenly having all that control taken away from us. People who struggled with the restrictions were often heard saying “We’re not children. Let us make our own decisions.” And one of the ways we were told to build resiliency was to find the areas where we did have some control and to make things happen on that front. Only to have people flaunting the things we hoped would make us all healthier – masks, distancing, parties. And what did we say – it was all over NextDoor – I wish they would stop acting like children. Take responsibility for others, not be so selfish.
It turns out that part of being adults and children is not always being able to do what we want. Turns out we really don’t know what’s coming next – it has not yet been revealed. And our full selves – who we are meant to be, that hasn’t been revealed either. But God’s love – that has been revealed.
If you want to explore this topic in more depth, see the whole sermon here.
