Looking forward to learning about some of the other joys of having a prepared heart? Here’s another Advent thought for my faithful readers.
When I worked as an adoption agency counselor, one of my tasks was to help with post-adoption support groups. These families had prepared a home for a child but often the parents struggled when their best intentions were met with outright defiance. Nor were the parents the only ones who struggled. One night I led the support group for biological children of the parents. “What was hardest about having your adoptive sibling join your family?” I asked.
Their answers surprised me. “He tried to steal my friends.” “I had to share my bedroom.” “She took my place sitting next to Mom at the dining table.” There was real grief and sadness at being displaced.
Mt. 25:31-34 speaks of the final Day of Judgment. The Son of Man will sit on his throne and separate the people like a shepherd separating his sheep from his goats. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.”
The twelve disciples argued on more than one occasion about who would get to sit next to Jesus on his right and left. But not one of us will feel displaced when our time comes. We all will enjoy the blessings God has prepared for us. We will be heirs in his kingdom! And, imagine this, we are the adoptees!
