Child of God

John 1:12 says “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”. This verse tells of our birthright. It tells us who we are and where we came from. This verse gives us power and protection and maybe, most importantly, peace. If you find yourself stressed, afraid, tired, hurt, or angry, really any of the human emotions that open a door for Satan to come in and tell you lies, you must remind yourself who’s you are. You are a child of God. You must remember who’s you are. We must remember three words. Three words that should change our life - Child of God. They should change the way we live and the way we work. John 1:12 should be our compass for where we go and how we get there. This Biblical truth should be engraved on our hearts. This verse is a cornerstone of living a life of freedom. And to the staff at Mercy House, this verse explains why we do what we do and how we are able to persevere in the most difficult of situations. You see not only are we children of God but so are the neighbors that we serve. 

Our neighbors too are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are confident in God’s plan for our life, one that promises life to the full and we claim that same promise for the people of West Montgomery. When you know that God can change a heart, heal hurt and restore a life you feel a sense of urgency to share this life-changing information. The injustice that weighs this community down like an anchor is a large part of the puzzle that is poverty. Add to that the high crime rate, lack of education opportunities, one-parent homes, high unemployment, and drug use, and you will see people drowning in circumstances far beyond our neighbor’s control. But when we realize that as a child of God we are entitled to all the benefits and promises that the Bible proclaims, we feel empowered. We are no longer working by ourselves. We are running on God’s power and are fully comfortable that apart from Him, we can do nothing. Our Heavenly Father is working it all out for our good and His glory. And when we know who we belong to, who has got our back, who died for us, who went to prepare a place for us, who holds us in the hollow of His hand - when we know whose we are, I mean really know that - we are overcome with the need to show the Creator of the universe how much we love him. 

Here on Council street we are not only trying to be the hands and feet of Christ, we are meeting a need of our own. We have an outlet to show God what it means to be His. We are overflowing with His grace to the point that we can’t help but allow that to spill out onto those that we serve each day. I would go so far as to say that if we didn’t have an outlet for our testimonies of God’s goodness, we might feel unsatisfied and unfulfilled. We would experience a sense of restlessness and frustration. When we are fulfilling God’s call on our life there is so much less disappointment and hurt in our life. John Schuster put words to this feeling well when he said “Calls command that you attach yourself to something infinite and lasting so you can escape the life you thought you deserved and replace it with the life you were meant for.” Of course, you are always welcome to serve here at Mercy House. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 

God Bless 

Pastor Ken Austin