“Adopted” by God
admin April 23rd, 2006
Sarah always gets a little antsy when it’s my turn at the parish lecturn. The first time she saw me get out of my seat and walk toward the altar, she called out, “No, Mommy! That’s for Father Will!” She proceded to pitch a fit, forcing Craig to carry her out, and me to raise my voice above her protestations. Clearly, all was not right with her little world. Later, I explained that God gives everyone different gifts, and expects us to use them to serve God and His Church. It was my job to read the Scriptures in a nice, clear voice . . . and some day, she would have a special job, too.
Today as I went forward, Sarah made no protest, and her chocolate-brown orbs sparkled as I looked out on the sea of faces, proclaiming the second reading. In case you didn’t quite catch it from the cry room, the reading was from the first epistle of St. John, chapter 5.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments. . . [which] are not burdensome.
As an adoptive parent, this reading gave me a bit of pause. Family is “the domestic church,” and the dynamics of family life tell us something about the relationship God wants with His children.
And yet, in this passage, the reverse is true: This Scriptures speaks of the spiritual dynamic between God and me, His adopted child, in order to illuminate the kind of relationship He wants me to have with my adopted children. How? To the degree that I imitate my Father in heaven, I remind my children of His love for them. To the extent that I love God and obey His commandments (both the “Top Ten” and the virtuous pursuit of holiness), I am loving my brothers and sisters in the Lord.
For example, when I’m impatient or harsh with my kids, I fail to draw from the supernatural graces God offers me by His Spirit . . . gentleness and self-control and any number of other much-needed motherly virtues. And like little weeds, these failings take root and bear fruit in the lives of my children. In no time, I hear them
vexing or teasing each other, using the same angry and dismissive tone that they heard from me. “Like little tape recorders,” my ever-patient husband reminds me.Fortunately, they pick up the good stuff, too. Each day when Christopher exits the van on his way into the school building, I call out to him. “Have a great day — Go, Team Saxton! Together, we’re winners!” He always smiles and charges out, echoing, “Go, Team Saxton!” He understands that he shares in the responsibility of representing the family to the rest of the world. This is something he takes very seriously, at least at present, a fact of which I am grateful.
And yet, on another level, I am also challenged to follow my son’s example. As I jump (OK, shuffle) out of bed each morning, do I face the world with a bright smile and a heartfelt, “Go, team Christian!”? Do I take time to get my marching orders from on high, and “gird myself with truth”? As an adoptive child of God, just how seriously do I take the responsibility to express my love for God in word and deed?
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for making me your child. Thank you for my children, and for everything you are teaching me through them. Make me the kind of loving parent you want me to be, that they will never wonder — even for a moment — of the kind of love you have for them.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
