We are All God's Children/ We are One in God's Love - 1 John 3: 1-7

There is an old saying that you cannot choose your family. You are born into the lineage that you have, and at times we wrestle with how to separate ourselves from those things that bother us about our family - our hair color and texture, our temperament, our family drama. Sometimes we succeed and are able to separate our identity as an individual from the things we like least about our heritage while maintaing that which we claim as the best. But at the end of the day, you can’t change who your family is and what you’ve been born into by biology.

Or at least so we claim. But the truth is, by virtue of our baptism we are born into another family as well, our church family. Our Christian brothers and sisters. Spiritual parents and siblings. Or in the words of the epistle, children of God. Just like our biological family, their may be things that we would like to change. There may be times that we wish we could be part of a different family, but at the end of the day, family is family. 

And what an unusual family it is. We are often mis-understood by non-family members. We may yearn to fit in with other people, but like Jesus, we will be misunderstood because we are the children of God. We don’t do things like everyone else around us. While everyone else seems to focus on the individual, and what is best for me, we preach community first. In a world that fights with one another in order to bring about security, we seek forgiveness and peace. And in a world where identity is marked by status and accomplishments, we find our identity in our baptism. We are surely an odd bunch. Not to mention that while others are shuring up their homes on earth, we live on earth, while knowing that we also have a home in heaven. 

Further, in this family, there aren’t the usual marks of resemblance. Our eye and hair color aren’t all the same. We don’t share the same DNA. We come from different nations and races. We have different beliefs at times. We speak different languages. We are different ages and gender. Yet, we have the most important thing in common -we know that we are a loved child of God. We are embraced with a transformational love. In the words of theologian Ronald Cole-Turner, “while our birth certificates declare our natural identity, our baptism certificates declare our true identity.” Through the uniting love of God, we are drawn together and made into a family, where we are claimed as God’s children. 

However, far too many of us are living in the awkward teenage years in our church family. How many of you remember wanting to escape your family? Maybe going as far as distancing yourself from them or ignoring them? Far too many children of God are living in this phase as well. Not claiming the identity of their baptism, but instead trying to hide in the facade of what the world defines as normal. Instead of living the counter cultural way set forth by Jesus, we try to sneak into someone else's family. We dress like everyone else, talk like everyone else, do the things that our heavenly parent has instructed us not to do, all in an attempt to fit in. To be normal. But children of God, we are not called to be normal. We aren’t supposed to fit in with everyone else, we are supposed to be inviting other people to be part of our family, no matter how weird. 

So even in our disordered teenage years, and even though we don’t have many markers that make us seem like family, what truly brings us together? What unties us and makes us one? The love that God has lavished upon us. This past week I took my brother into the city. Being a pastor, one of the things I notice is church buildings, and two stuck out to me on this trip. The first was marked by a cross hanging off of the side of the building that lit up at night with the words “No one can escape sin”. The second had the slogan, “the church that love built.” What do you think about when you consider the family of God? Do you think about being the rag tag group of people that God brought together by love or a group that cannot escape sin? What message do we want to present as a community? I don’t know about you, but I would much rather be the church marked by God’s love and grace. A group that may not know what we will become or what the future holds, but we know now, in this moment, that we are loved by God and each other. 

Of course, there are going to be times when we stumble, as individuals or as a collective group. But we will never, ever, be kicked out of the family. No matter how much we run away. No matter how much we get caught up in being like other people. No matter what. God will not forsake us as the children of God. That is a pretty powerful message. We are forever marked by our baptism and the love of God. And the good news is that in this family, as children of God, we know that we will never be complete. That we are going to continue to grow in love for God and for one another, in a transformational way. Praise God! 

Did you notice the vows that you took as a church concerning someone being baptized? To help raise him in this local church. This family of God. To help instruct and teach her. To help them claim the power and truth of his baptism. That is a pretty powerful promise to make on the behalf of a child or new convert. I was sharing with the confirmation class a few weeks ago, that I didn’t always like that someone made that promise at my baptism. I did not like the fact that I had lots and lots of parents raising me in the church, not just my biological ones. But that was until I realized why I had so many parents... Because I was part of a family that was bigger and stronger then anything I ever imagined before. Have you ever considered what a vital part you are to this community, this family, as a child of God? 

However, I think what the author of 1 John is trying to gently remind us of today is that sometimes we need to relearn what it means to be a church family. To be a church family is to submit each of our wills to the ultimate parent, God, whom calls us Beloved. We submit ourselves because even we we did not know God, God knew us. Very few of us can make such a powerful statement about our human relationships. For only God knows from everlasting to everlasting. We have the ultimate parent who takes away our sin and reminds us that while we were given this family for our benefit, its not about us. Its not necessarily about what we want or getting our own way. Its about getting along with one another, because God cares about each of us deeply. Its about bringing honor to our heavenly parent by the way that we treat each other, because we each bear the likeness of God. 

Being a family also means that we are called to hold each other accountable. Allowing someone else to call us out when we fall short and sin. Surround each other with grace to remind each other that even when we stumble, Christ has taken away our sin. Encourage one another to live a blameless life. We hold each other accountable, and submit ourselves to the accountability of another so no one can lead us astray from the truth that God loves us and we are God’s children. That’s pretty powerful. It means allowing ourselves to be asked by one another, “how is it with your soul” and having the vulnerability to honestly answer. Apologizing when we have hurt one another. Seeking forgiveness when we stray from our Heavenly Parents love towards us.

Being in a family is a great honor. It may not always feel like it - at times it may seem more like a burden then a gift, but it is none the less a gift, given to us so we have someone to identify with, a lineage to draw strength from, a group of people to guide us along our lives. And that is what we are given with the church, not just this church, but the church universal. What an awesome gift to treasure. What are you going to do with it? How are you going to thank God for the gift of being a child of God? Will you continue to fight and stray? Or will you submit yourselves to the bonds of love beyond our understanding in order to transform the world together? Amen.