Sermons Notes: Trinity 6 – Ephesians 1:3-14
- This is a potentially sensitive subject, and I hope that in discussing it I do not accidentally stray into areas which might upset
- It is at the heart of the letter to the Ephesians that we hear this morning when Paul discusses being adopted
- I am sure that many of us know at least one couple who have deeply desired children
- Indeed, it may have been ourselves
- I have in mind a wonderful couple: Christian, loving, an inspiration to all who meet them
- Yet sadly, their own children was not an option
- There was the heartache of that realisation and slowly that culminated into a desire to adopt
- The long difficult, traumatic road towards adoption
- To be ultimately denied that opportunity to share all that love that they had
- As they shared their painful story with me, they communicated their desire to love
- The love they shared between them
- The love they had for God
- Overflowing like a fountain to be shared with a child who might need that
- Although some who discover they have been adopted feel hurt that that their biological parents could not care for them
- and it does appear these days anecdotally that it is more cannot that would not
- What adoptive parents most want to impress on their child is that
- They ARE loved
- They ARE special
- They ARE a part of the adoptive family
- Paul in his letter to the Ephesians uses the language of adoption to speak of our relationship with God
- We ARE loved
- We ARE special
- We ARE a part of this most special family
- In New Testament times, because parents died young, unexpectedly and often violently
- Adoption both within and without the family was not just about legal guardianship
- To be adopted means more than just paperwork
- It means to become a full part of the bloodline
- It means that both legally, spiritually and physically all the promises of inheritance apply to the adopted
- It means we become a full part of that family – the family of God
- We all have our own experiences – good and bad – of family
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- For me, “family” speaks of people who are always there for you: support, love, advice, prayer – often through challenging, difficult and occasionally desolate times
- …and there is God: always there for you, showing support, love, guidance
- Always beside you, no matter what
- Always forgiving, always supporting
- There are many children in this world who have been loved, supported and guided by parents who had more than enough love to share with a child
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- Each of us is offered an opportunity to be adopted into the family of God
- Each of us is invited to share the inheritance that results from that adoption
- To be a brother and sister of Christ
- To find a share in the gift of eternal life
- Yes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”
- For he has offered us a very special, loving place within the family of ultimate love.
Amen
