Monday, February 12, 2007

You are my child

Hear it! [Abba’s Lullaby MID]
See it! [Abba’s Lullaby PDF]


Romans 8:14-16 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

How do we know that we are following the Spirit of God? We are the Children of God when we recognize a deep longing within us, a spirit that cries out, “Abba! Father!”

How do we know when we are not following the Spirit of God? We fall back into fear. The spirit of slavery traps us in fear. We discount, even reject, the witness of the Spirit within us.

But God’s Spirit has not rejected us, but continues to cry out within us. Our struggle is between a spirit of adoption and a spirit of fear. Still the Holy Spirit cries out, “You are my child.”

The ministry of reconciliation is hopeful. It is does not induce fear, shame or despair. Rather the spirit of reconciliation encourages a deep trust, a deep listening, and a deep awakening. The Spirit bears witness within us that at our deepest self we are the children of God.

Those who are enslaved by a spirit of fear have not heard this for themselves and cannot speak this to others. This is why our ministry fails.

Those who are led by the Spirit of God are hopeful. They recognize within themselves the work of the Spirit, and they recognize in others that same working of the Spirit.

So it is that the Spirit sings to me and through me Abba’s Lullaby:

You are my child, my beloved
In you I am well pleased
You are my daughter, you are my son
All my beloved, be as one

May we sing this to each other. May we hear this from each other. And may we sing it more confidently for those who most need to hear it.

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