Humbly Submitted by: Alson B H Percival (Venerable Dr.) Archdeacon of St. Kitts
John in his account of the Gospel 1:12-13 speaks to us in this manner, “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.”
Quite a few children have lived in various homes because their parents have either died or because of the lack of the economic means to raise them. Some of those children lived with single parents, extended families or friends of the deceased parents. Many of those children were abused; and as a result met with very hard times. The turbulent experiences have left scars on the memory of those youth who are now young men and young ladies. Today, some of those children are still wrestling with their identities, and it all stemmed from the fact that they had little or no love and stability in their lives.
The church and other faith-based organizations have been working tirelessly to assist some of those injured persons to forgive themselves and others for their unfortunate past; pick up their lives, embrace the future with all its opportunities and reach for the galaxies to fulfill their God- intended purposes. With prayer and time, those individuals have been making miraculous strides in their communities.
Young lives that have been in the path of self-destructive downward spiral are living with peace, hope, joy and love, and are blessing others on a daily basis. The challenge here is for one to live with a pure heart pleasing to God and others. God and others must see the light of Christ shining from within without whispering the smallest sound. Such a life expresses exquisitely what takes place when individuals receive God’s power to become His children.
In John’s account of the Gospel, to believe is to accept Jesus and what He claims to be; then to dedicate one’s life to Him. Indeed, belief in Christ offers prestige; one becomes a child of God. Someone once said, “Nobodies becomes some-bodies, regardless of how they see themselves.” Peter 2:9-10, speaks of such life in this manner, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
John 1:10 – 11 tells us “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” This is a complete contrast to our text above. This reading reflects on those who could not cope with the real world; but, our text above tells us that believing in Jesus gives us dignity and reason to live fully, for God is not beyond any circumstances in which His children will find themselves.