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Adoption Through Christ – Love Beyond Measure · Still, Here

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is still here.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: A quiet moment to remember what is true.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 5 and 6.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: The need to prove we belong often begins early.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: In a family where love felt unpredictable,
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: a child may learn to become helpful, quiet, successful, agreeable, or easy to love.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: The child studies the room.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: They notice what brings warmth and what brings withdrawal.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: They begin shaping themselves around the expectations of the people who hold power.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: School and work can reinforce the same lesson.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Acceptance seems to follow achievement.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Security appears to depend on usefulness.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, the soul adopts a small ruler.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: My place depends on how faithful, helpful, productive, or easy to love I can be.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Our earliest pictures of God are often shaped by parents, teachers, pastors, and employers.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: When those relationships taught us to earn approval, we may assume God works the same way.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: We serve, pray, give, behave,
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: care for others,
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: and carry heavy responsibilities
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: while quietly hoping our usefulness will secure our place.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Paul uses a different picture.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: He says,
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: God destined us for adoption through Jesus Christ,
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: according to the good pleasure of his desire.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Adoption begins in the loving decision of the one who welcomes the child.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: A young child does not understand every legal promise being made.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: The child has not performed enough chores,
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: shown enough gratitude, or demonstrated enough maturity to deserve a family name.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: The place begins in love.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Ephesians says God desired to bring us near.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: God was not pressured into receiving you.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: He did not reluctantly make room because Jesus persuaded him to tolerate you.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Adoption reveals the Father's heart.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Love wanted you near.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Through Jesus, we see what that welcome looks like.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus lived from the assurance of being loved by the Father,
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: and he carried that love toward people who felt unwanted,
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: overlooked, unclean, or unworthy.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: In him, the door into belonging stands open.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Feelings of unworthiness may remain.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Human experiences can teach the body and soul to expect love to disappear.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: An adopted child may need time to trust the safety of a new home.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: They may test the promise.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: They may fear that one mistake will send them away.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: The place is still theirs while trust grows.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: That may be where you are today.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Part of you hears the language of grace, while another part still expects rejection.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: You may understand belonging as a doctrine and still live as though you are a temporary guest.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: A guest worries about staying too long.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: An employee worries about becoming unnecessary.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: A child has a family name in a place that does not vanish when usefulness fades.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Your service, your faithfulness, your growth matters.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yet none of these things create your identity as God's beloved child.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: They are ways the life of the family takes form within you.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: You no longer have to make yourself indispensable to remain loved.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Your life can become the joyful expression of already belonging.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Father, you desired to bring me near, and your welcome was never reluctant.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Some parts of me still expect belonging to disappear when I am less useful or less certain.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Today I consent to being received as your child.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Let trust grow patiently within the place your grace has already secured.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Thankfulness rises within the safety of your love.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: And as the day continues around you, carry this prayer with you.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: I do not earn my place.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: I belong in God's family.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: I do not earn my place.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: I belong in God's family.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: I do not earn my place.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: I belong in God's family.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open, stay present.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: You are still here.