“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and
that is what we are. Beloved, we are God’s children now; 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. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as
he is pure.” 1 John 3:1-3
Dear Redeemer Family:
What amazing words St. John greets us with above. Something that so often, people
forget, or have never considered before. We are God’s children now, not in the near or
distant future, but now, thanks to Christ Jesus. The very idea is mind boggling. We are
already declared to be children of God, and fellow heirs with Christ. I’ve noticed over
time that when I’ve said that to people; immediately deny it. “No, that happens later.”
Really, do you want to argue with St. John?
What does this mean? Well, we already celebrate it. November 1st is the celebration
of All Saints. We remember the whole Church on that day; past, present and future.
But again, most people will say that it is the time when we remember the saints who
have died. Again, wrong. Yes, we remember the saints of the past. But we also
uphold the saints of the present, all baptized Christians; and the saints yet to come. I
think that people have a problem with time. It seems that we tend to dwell on the past.
But God is eternal. God is outside of time. God sees past, present and future all
together. It is time that we start trying that a bit as well.
Through Christ, we have been claimed by God. We are declared righteous by God,
now. We are made children of God, now. We are made coheirs with Christ, now. It is
time that we realize that, accept that, and live like that. This is all God’s doing, and we
rejoice in it. We declare it: We have been saved by God’s grace through our faith in
Jesus Christ. The great Lutheran slogan. Read it again. It isn’t saying anything about
the future. It says, “We have been.” That is past tense. It is done.
So, rejoice that you have been saved, declared children of God, and share that good
news with those who need to hear it. For now, that is also part of our job description
as coheirs with Christ. Amen.
In Christ,
Pastor Rose