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The text reminds us of the great blessing restored again to the earth where we have the opportunity to once again be called sons and daughters of God, an opportunity that was lost to mankind with the downfall of Adam, for Adam was the son of God the Scripture tells us. We find that in the genealogies listed from Adam through to Christ in the Scriptures, and in the last part of that the genealogies go back to those that were close at the creation. We can read in Luke Chapter 3. Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. We see God recognised Adam as His son, and had he not fallen into sin all the generations thereafter would have inherited that wonderful blessing to be sons and daughters of God, and would have been blessed down through the ages: but that was lost to mankind, until God created a second man which was our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin to come into the world as the Son of man again, because He had to be adopted into the world, and that adoption we know was done through Joseph and Mary. We can confirm that in the Scriptures, where our Lord when He went to the temple when He was twelve years old and His parents were concerned, and when they found Him He said – Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business, but it then records in the Scriptures that He put Himself under their care. That is an adoption in our day of grace, where there is a child which is not of the direct bloodlines but is drawn unto the adoption of those parents and they care for that child as though it were their own. Our Lord then was adopted into the world as the Son of man.

We read He was in the world, but the world knew Him not. We are in the world and the world knows us not. There is no difference, everyone looks the same. The only way the world could have known that our Lord was from God was if they had believed and followed His virtues that He did. It is the same in the Church today. The world can witness that we indeed have something different, if the virtues that we show to the world by our deeds and actions are such that it shows there is a difference. This restoration took place again back in the world when our Lord came out of the grave. He came out of the grave; the first person recorded seeing Him was Mary the sinner, and we can see His declaration to the world at that time which should give us great hope, for we find written in John Chapter 20 verse 11 on as follows: “But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them. I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” We see there the declaration that now Christ could once again through this resurrection be called the Son of God, and not only Him but He said to Mary – My Father, and your Father. Now the opportunity was there again. The restoration had been made through that great sacrifice where the sins of the world had been taken away and mankind could now begin a new start in the love of Christ.

This is an opportunity for each and every one of us to come to our Lord and confess our sins, and receive from Him the adoption. Once again, we cannot just demand; it just does not happen. It is like a spiritual adoption where we are accepted by the Heavenly Father to be His sons and His daughters. With all adoptions there has to be some agreements. Of course the agreement in this case is that each time we repent for our sins He then will agree that we then are in a position to be adopted to be His sons and His daughters.

We then need to go on to the step of regeneration which we know happens through the blessings and Sacraments that He has left for the Church. In this regeneration we then take on a new being we might say, it is a spiritual being within us. There is still the fleshly being and there is the spiritual. We know that if we follow the flesh then we suffer the penalties of the flesh, but if we follow the spiritual guidance within us that is given through the power of the Holy Spirit we can then remain as sons and daughters of God. The great blessing is that our Lord knows that it is not possible for us, for He lived on this earth as an adopted son of man. He saw and experienced Himself how difficult it is to maintain that constant connection to God. He achieved it through the power of the Holy Spirit within Him, but He knows how difficult it is.  Each time we slip but then we come back, it creates that ability for a great celebration in heaven that my son again has returned to me.  This can only be done through grace, and it is a wonderful blessing that we can receive in our lives.  It enables us to be heirs to that great promise of the Kingdom of God.