Sermon Excerpt: Adopted by God Romans 8:14-17 by Rev. Randy Quinn

 How many of you have grandchildren?  How many have had good relationships with your grandparents?  More than once I’ve seen bumper stickers and sweat shirts that say “if I had known grandchildren were so fun, I would’ve had them first;” and at the High School graduation last Sunday, the speaker suggested that we get along with our grandparents because, as he said, “we share a common enemy” in the generation between us.  J

 Ronda sees our grandchildren more often than I do, so it’s not surprising that on those times when I do see them, they respond better to her than they do to me.  Children are like that.  Even Melissa responds more to people who have spent time with her.  When we spend time with our grandchildren, there is a certain amount of trust that develops, a trust that allows love to be shared.

 And while it’s true God has no grandchildren; that kind of a relationship is certainly an apt one to begin with as we try to discern what it means to be God’s children, children who once belonged to a different family and are now included in God’s family.

 Paul tries to explain it by using adoption as an analogy – or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that adoption is a symbol, since in theological terms, a symbol is something that participates in something as well as pointing toward it.

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