Romans 8:12-17
12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are obligated, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—13 for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 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 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, 17 and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption.
My first piano teacher was a kind and generous lady who was trained in old school teaching methods. She was very fond of me, always treating me with kindness and respect. She was, however, extremely demanding. At six years old, my greatest desire was to please my kind, but demanding, teacher. When I played well, she turned the page to the next piece without comment. When I made mistakes, we went back and played them over and over again until I had everything just right.
I loved playing the piano but, over time, I became hyper critical of myself. I often burst into tears while practicing and became riddled with anxiety before every lesson. Finally, without my knowledge, my Mom asked my teacher to give me a little bit more affirmation. She was completely surprised and told my Mom that I was her best student. After that, I got gold stars on the pages I played well, and I fell back in love with playing the piano.
God adores us. So much so that, in Baptism, God adopted each of us as a sister or brother of Jesus. When we allow ourselves to fall prey to all the images of an angry, vengeful God that are out there, we can easily become frightened and anxious. This causes us to work extra hard trying to please God out of fear of punishment instead of resting in the gentle arms of our Lord.
God has given us a spirit of adoption, a gold star on the top corner of every page of our lives. Our job is to allow all the love and devotion that God is pouring into us to overflow into every aspect of our lives.
Prayer: Lord God: Thank you for making me part of the family and for loving me so perfectly. AMEN