May 27, 2018

"In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God" John 16:26,27

"… the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." John 16: 7

"But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth" John 16:13

I happen to live in a very wealthy part of Greenwich. Through some connections we were able to rent a small cottage on someone's property. Almost every day I go for a walk with my son and my dog. Since I have a friendly dog who likes to say hi to everybody, I get to talk to a lot of people. I am almost always asked the same questions: Are you a nanny? Do you work as an au pair? For whom do you work? After a while, I started to ask myself why people automatically assume that I don't live there. Is it my accent? Is it the way I dress? Is it written on my forehead that I don't belong there? Feelings of not good enough, and of something is wrong with me, started to creep in.  

I think in the world we have many occasions to feel insecure, inadequate or simply feel like we don't fit in.  Who am I? Am I an immigrant, a result of my past, a stay at home mom? All the above and none of the above. I am a child of God. The question is, do I live like a child of God when I close my Bible and go on with my day? In other words, do I truly embrace my identity in all aspects of life? "You can believe in God and still miss life with him.  You can know about God and still live like an Orphan" Do I walk around Greenwich like a Child or like an Orphan?

We are God's children, we are Christ's friends (John 15:12-17). More than that we are one with the Lord in spirit. "But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in Spirit" 1 Cor 6:17. The Holy Spirit, the Counselor the Spirit of Truth lives in us.  God, our Father loves us. Today's reading is a reminder, an invitation to be intimate with God. The choice is mine. Do I choose to be one with the Lord or one with the world?

"DO I as a Christian understand myself? Do I know my own real identity? My own real destiny? I am a child of God, God is my father; heaven is my home; every day is one day nearer. My Savior is my brother; every Christian is my brother too. Say it over and over again to yourself first thing in the morning, last thing at night, as you wait for the bus, anytime when your mind is free, and ask God that you may be enabled to live as one who knows it is all utterly and completely true. For this is the Christian's secret of the Christian life, of a God-honoring life" J.I. Packer