Meditating...

Yesterday I was able to celebrate with a couple the birth of their first child. A son. I looked into the face of innocence & majesty. I beheld one who was created in the image & likeness of His Creator. We congratulated the family, we gave thanks to our Heavenly Father, & our hearts are full.

A saw a child that was born sinless, perfect, and without any separation to the love of God. An infant whose very life, movement, & being is found in Him. He knows nothing of fear. He knows nothing of right or wrong doing. He is a blank slate that awaits the words of his life to be inscribed. What comes next for this little guy is what his parents put into Him. Everything that he will know will need to be taught. In light of the enormous responsibility, I have meditated upon this little guys existence.

This child was born as a part of the New Creation in Christ. The old creation in Adam has been done away with. He can be raised to walk in the fullness of relationship with his Heavenly Father.

There is no Old Covenant to keep & no Law to bear. The Law was fulfilled in Christ for every person. The only "Law" that will be passed on to him is the Law of Liberty in Christ Jesus.

Sin was condemned in the flesh of Christ LONG before this child came into the world. All sin - for all time - for all people - has been dealt with - PERIOD. We cannot read Paul's letter to the church of Rome nor the letter to the Hebrews and come away with a different understanding. There is no other sacrifice for sin, nor does there need to be one.

As I meditate upon the reality that this child was born into, I offer a prayer to the Lord. It is my prayer that this little guy, along with many others, will grow up in this understanding. That they will know they are LOVED by God & never be introduced to (or taught) fear. That they will never be reduced to anything less than their Divine image. I pray that they will grow up into the perfect & unconditional love of the Father. That they will discover their life in Him.

A child has been born. I believe a true son will arise. This is what Jesus came to redeem to us. This is what the Gospel declares.

Far too long we have allowed the dogmas of religion to dictate how we understand the finished work of Christ. We have strayed away from the beautiful Good News that the early church carried. We have struggled under the weight of separation that we carried in our thinking. These children represent the greatest opportunity to change all of that. They won't have to re-learn the Gospel. It will be a part of their lives from Day 1 - considering that they are given this truth from the beginning.

Today I was reminded of 1 John 4:16. I want you to really think upon these words. Allow them to become the mantra of your life.
"We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us."
WE HAVE COME TO KNOW...
In other words, this was something that they had to learn. This wasn't what they were taught from the beginning. In fact, much of their religious system revolved around SIN. Whenever there was an issue, the question would be asked, "Who sinned?" Coming out from under that culture, these disciples had to learn the love of God. Thankfully for them, there was One they walked with for 3-3 1/2 years who knew it full well.
...AND HAVE BELIEVED...
What they have come to know has now become a part of who they are. Their faith was fully convinced. Their hearts became fully fixed. You could not force John to ever question the love of God for him ever again. It was an experience. It came through relationship with Him who was perfect love.
...THE LOVE WHICH GOD HAS FOR US.
Take it all in. Really meditate in these words. The love which God has for us. It's almost unbelievable. I'm sure we could give God plenty of reasons to not love us. I'm sure we could protest & say we really are not worthy. He loves us nonetheless. It's who He is.

May these children always be persuaded of His love. And may you, the reader, always be enamored with/by His love for you. You will never be the same.