We Remain God's Children

There is no one that calls upon thy name, that bestirs himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast delivered us into the hand of our iniquities. Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou art our potter; we are all the work of thy hand. Be not exceedingly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity for ever. Behold, consider, we are all thy people.

Isaiah 64:7-9

People are, as a rule, messed up.

We are imperfect. We make mistakes.

We sin.

We know this. Even people who reject any belief in God accept the idea that people are imperfect. Even people who reject any belief in God understand that everyone will make more mistakes than we would like.

As a rule, we do not like that we make mistakes. Mistakes are annoying when we make them, and infuriating when others make them.

No great insight is required to understand why this is. We know better. We know what is right, and what is wrong. We know how we should be treating each other, and we know how we should be treating ourselves.

We know we should take care of ourselves, even if we do not think of self care as keeping ourselves holy—which it is.

We know we should be nice to one another, and be at peace with one another, even if we do not think of such as part of loving our neighbor as we love ourselves—which it is.

We know we should be compassionate to the less fortunate, and merciful to those who are suffering, even if we do not verbalize it as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and comforting the sick—which it is.

We know we should do such things. Yet we often do not do such things.

We are imperfect. We make mistakes.

We sin.

We know this is the reality of being human. We know that, in spite of our best efforts, we cannot help but make mistakes. We know that, in spite of our best efforts, we cannot avoid sin.

Does the inevitability of sin mean we should not have our sins held against us? It would certainly be nice if that were so! Unfortunately, it is not.

Sin or no sin, every action gives rise to reaction, which in turn imposes consequence. Everything we do, good and bad, brings on consequences.

We cannot escape answering for all that we do, and so we cannot escape answering for all that we do wrong.

We are imperfect. We make mistakes.

We sin.

We suffer for our sin.

We suffer, and we have to live with the consequences of our sin.

Yet that also means we have to live—we have to keep on living.

We have to keep pushing forward along whatever path we travel. There is no second choice for us. We can change paths, and choose a different direction, but always we are moving forward towards something.

Life does not stop. No matter how badly we screw up, no matter how big our mistake, we still have to keep on living. We still have to keep moving forward.

We are imperfect. We make mistakes.

We sin.

We move on.

This is the reality of being human. This is how we are made. As we are, we are flawed. As we are, we make wrong choices. As we are, we have to deal with those wrong choices and, somehow, move forward in spite of those wrong choices.

This is how we are made. This is how God made us. Only He knows why we are made as we are. We only get to know that we are made as we are, and that it is God who made us as we are.

However we are, we are God’s creation. However we are, we are God’s children.

We don’t stop being God’s creation just because we make mistakes. We don’t stop being God’s children just because we sin.

God made us as we are. As we are, God will not abandon us.

We are taught this in Deuteronomy.

We are taught this in Isaiah.

We are taught this in Jeremiah.

Jesus promises this throughout the Gospels.

We are imperfect. We make mistakes.

We sin.

Yet after we sin—after we fall—when we get back up again, God is still there. God is still God, and we are still His. No mistake we make ever changes that. No sin ever erases that.

No matter how much or how badly we fail, God remains. All that God wants for us remains. All that God calls us to do remains.

Because God made us, before God our failings can never define us. Before God, our sins do not define us.

God created us, therefore God defines us. Therefore God has defined us—not just to Him but to each other as well. God has defined us by His act of creation, and not by our tendency to sin.

We are imperfect. We make mistakes.

We sin.

We remain. We remain God’s creation. We remain God’s children.

As we remain God’s children despite our sins, surely that is how we should acknowledge one another. Surely that is how we are called to see one another. Surely that is what it means to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

My prayer on every day is that I remember always that I am God’s creation. My prayer on every day is that I will be mindful that we are all God’s creation, all God’s children. My prayer on every day is that I will hear God’s calling for me, no matter how badly I screw things up, no matter how much I sin.

My prayer for you is that you will remember always that you also are God’s creation. My prayer for you is that you will also be mindful that we are all God’s creation, all God’s children. My prayer for you is that you will hear God’s calling for you, no matter how badly you screw things up, no matter how much you sin.

We are imperfect. We make mistakes.

We sin.

We remain. We remain God’s creation. We remain God’s children.