Faithfully yours - I am my father’s son

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Published on Saturday, March 26, 2016

By Neil Strohschein

The Neepawa Banner

The letter came about three months ago. It came in a plain brown envelope bearing a Government of Canada return address. So I opened it and began to read.

“Dear Mr. Strohschein,” the letter began.

“Our records show that you will reach the age of 65 in 2016. As such, you are entitled to begin receiving Old Age Security (OAS) payments. If this information is accurate, you need do nothing. Your first benefit cheque will be sent to you the month you turn 65 and you will receive automatic payments every month thereafter.”

As I went about my duties that day, I thought of how much has changed since I came kicking and screaming into this world 65 years ago.

I used to have thick brown hair. Now it’s gray and getting thinner every year. How thin is something only my hairdresser knows for sure. At one time, I was able to wear size 32 pants—not any more. I live in a different province. My views on social, economic and political issues have changed (some more than others) and the rigid doctrinal positions I articulated at my Ordination Council have softened considerably (again, some more than others).

But one thing about me hasn’t changed. I am the son of the late Paul Strohschein. Nothing I can do will ever change that fact. I was born into his family and I will always be part of his family.

The same is true of my relationship with God. I became part of God’s family the same way I became part of my earthly family. I was born into it.

But my second birth wasn’t the same as the first. Jesus spoke of that birth in a conversation with a man named Nicodemus. “No one can enter the kingdom of God,” Jesus said, “without being born from above…without being born of water and Spirit.” (John 3:3, 5)

In this verse, “water” is a symbol of the Word of God; the Scriptures. As we read and reflect on these sacred writings, we discover who God is, who we are and how far we have strayed from the standards God has set for us. We are told that all have sinned, that the wages of sin is death (spending eternity in a place where God isn’t) but that Christ died for our sins and that all who believe (put their faith) in him can be forgiven and receive the gift of everlasting life.

The Spirit convinces us that what we read is true and urges us to believe. Then, in response to our faith, the Spirit comes into our lives and begins to change us from the inside out. The inner urge to do what pleases self is removed and replaced with an inner urge to do what pleases God. And in that moment we are “born from above,” and become part of God’s eternal family.

Does that mean we will always do what is right? No. We will fail. We will sin. We will make wrong choices. We will do things that harm ourselves and others. We may wander far from God, walk away from all association with other believers and do things that hurt him deeply. But we will never stop being his children. We were born into his family and so we will always be.

Human families aren’t the only one with prodigal children. God has his prodigals too. And just like the father in the story Jesus told, God is waiting for his prodigals to come back home.