INTRODUCTION:

Hearken back to a time in life less stressful. To childhood. A simpler time. Not necessarily a better time, but a simpler time when we weren't in charge and the biggest worry we had was whether or not we were going to get a shot when we went to the doctor's office or whether the teacher was going to give a pop quiz.

Think back to that uncluttered time in your life, when 25 cents, 50 cents, a dollar or even five dollars seemed like an great allowance and gave you more money than you could spend in a week.

It could get you into movies plus get you popcorn and a coke. And maybe even a box of Jujubees or a box of Milk Duds.

Remember summer nights chasing lightning bugs or fireflies? Remember what it treat it was when Dad loaded up the car and took you all to the drive in movies. Mom had a large paper grocery bag filled with home popped popcorn. You got to stay up late. You got to sit on the hood of the car or in lawn chairs out front of the car. You might have even gotten to go to the concession stand and buy something from the snack bar.

Think back to the simple pleasures of life like a hot dog grilled on the end of a stick over an open fire. Or ice cream from the ice cream man. Who can forget the sound of that bell or the tape that played Pop Goes the Weasel slightly off key 900,000 times in a row. Or how good that Bomb Pop or Fudge-cicle, or Nutty Buddy Drumstick tasted on that hot summer day.

Remember Kool-Aid and Lemonade stands? Tree Houses and forts.

Remember swimming in the creek or using the horse trough as a swimming pool?

Remember listening to baseball on the radio? Or seeing your first color TV?

Remember when the scariest monsters in the world were King Kong, Rodan, Dracula, the Wolfman and Frankenstein not some guy named Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden, or a country named Korea or a disease that we only refer to by its abbreviation such AIDS or SARS.

Remember when a boy caring a pocket knife was a normal thing which no one thought anything about because they knew it would only be used to carve initials in trees, or cut the string on packages or for whittling on a stick or playing mumbly peg.

Remember when something simple, like a stick, could entertain you all day long.

It could be the baton of the drum major in a marching band or the baton of a symphony orchestra conductor.

Or it could be the scepter for the princess as she ascended her throne with all the grace and majesty available.

It could have been the magic wand of a wizard fighting off Orcs or Goblins in the dark caverns of Morea.

It could be a golf club in the hands of Sam Sneed, Arnold Palmer, Chi Chi Rodrigez or Tiger Wood.

Or it could have been a light saber for a Jedi Knight fighting the dark forces of the Imperial Army, trying to rescue the princess and her home planet.

It could be a rifle used to defend the fort from Indians, or used to free the colonies from the British, or help Davy Crockett, Sam Houston and Jim Bowie defend the Alamo.

Or it could be a horse ridden by a pony express rider carrying an urgent message to the president. Or a horse ridden by a jockey in the Kentucky Derby or even one ridden by a drover on a cattle drive from Ft. Worth to Dodge City, Kansas.

It could have been the handle of a whip used by a lion tamer in a circus or an adventurous archeologist like Indiana Jones.

Or it could have been the sword of Zorro or one of the Three Musketeers defending the weak and the poor from the tyranny of the corrupt king.

It could be a cane used by a famous dancer like Fred Astair as he performed on Broadway or next to Ginger Rogers in the movies.

Or it could be a fishing pole used by a fisherman like Jimmy Houston as he won the tournament.

Or it could be the staff of a shepherd or even of Moses as he lead the children of Israel through the wilderness and helped part the waters so they could flee from the armies of Egypt.

With that stick you could be Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Stan "the man" Musial all rolled into one. It would be the ninth inning, of the 7th game of the World series. Your team was down by three. The bases were loaded. You were facing the best pitcher the other team had. You were standing there with a full count on a you. Three balls, two strikes and one last chance to save the day. You stepped up to the plate, looked the pitcher right in the eye and dared him to throw his best stuff.

The pitcher let loose and so did you. The crowd in the stadium held it's breath as the bat connected with the ball. And then cheered as the solid thwack of connection resounded through the stadium and the ball rocketed straight over the center field wall for a grand slam home run and World Series victory.

Think back to a time when life was simpler and the greatest games didn't involve a television but an old tree, a light pole or an old can. Hide and seek wasn't something you did every morning because you've gotten so old your memory has gone. Or something you do every morning because your kids never put anything away. It was a game in which the most delicious words ever spoken were "ally, ally, outs in free," because it meant you had found such a good hiding place that no one could find you.

Think back to that time when you felt safe in your father's lap or your mother's arms. Think back to that time when everything was right with the world and the only problem you had was keeping your shoes tied. Or catching the ball. Whether you were going to find anything good to read at the library.

Remember when the only remote control in the house was you or your little brother? "Billy Change that to channel 4. Billy, turn that up a little. Billy move the rabbit ears a little and see if you can get the fuzz out of the picture."

Life was simpler then. For us. It wasn't any simpler for our parents. They had the same struggles and worries and problems and fears that you and I have now. But for us, for the children, it was simpler and not so complicated.

Don't you ever wish that life could be that simple again? Don't you wish that you could wait and listen for your father to whistle and tell you it's time to come home.

Don't you wish you knew that when you got home there would be food on the table and enough so you could have as much as you wanted? Enough so your Mom or Dad might even say something to the effect of, "Slow down, we're going to eat tomorrow."

Don't you wish there was someplace you could go and experience that same simple life. Where you could let go of your worries and sit in your daddy's lap and just enjoy the comfort and the strength of his arms? Or where you could crawl up in your mother's lap and know you are completely and totally and unconditionally loved, no matter what you might do.

Do you ever long for that? Do you ever wish there were a place where you could leave all your worries and fears and struggles and frustrations and mistakes and not have to carry them any more?

Listen to what the Apostle John has to say to us today in his first letter: I'm reading from the Message. 1 John 3:1-7 (MsgB)

[1] What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to.

[2] But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him—and in seeing him, become like him.

[3] All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus' life as a model for our own.

[4] All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God's order.

[5] Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program.

[6] No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They've got him all backwards.

[7] So, my dear children, don't let anyone divert you from the truth. It's the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah.

I. CHILDREN OF GOD:

A. Today I don't want you to step back in time. We're not really going on a nostalgia trip. Instead, I just want you to remember how it felt to be safe and unafraid because of the love of your parents.

For some of us, there are fond memories of joyous times, of carefree times. But for some others, there never was a sense of safety. For there never was a sense of belonging. Maybe they were the unwanted step children in a second or third marriage. Or maybe there wasn't a father to turn to in times of trouble. Or a mother who liked to snuggle. Not every family is like that.

Maybe you had a close knit family but there just wasn't enough money so you didn't get to stay a child very long before you had to go to work to help support your family.

Or maybe yours was one of those broken families. Sometimes there's abuse. Sometimes there's neglect. Sometimes parents don't have the emotional or spiritual skills to love unconditionally. Or they are carrying so much baggage themselves and they don't know how to let it go. And then that baggage gets in the way of any meaningful or deep relationship with their children.

Maybe that's the kind of family you grew up in. If that's the case, then we sure don't want you to take a nostalgia trip back there. It would be too painful.

But I want you to know that the message we find in John's first letter is the same for both types of people. Those who have known love and those who haven't.

This is a message and an invitation into a new relationship. One defined by God. One witnessed to by the disciples. One lived out before us by our Savior.

Verses 1 in the NRSV says: [1] See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.

And the Message puts it this way. [1] What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are.

B. Were not just called the children of God, like the Old Testament talks about the children of Israel. This isn't just nomenclature. This is genealogy. This is pedigree. This is relationship. We are the Children of God. Friends, that's exactly who we are, right now. Not off in some long distant future but right now. Not next week, right now. Not even tomorrow or later this afternoon but right now.

We ARE the children of God right now. We are the children of God. A God who loves us unconditionally. A God who didn't spare even His only Son to prove just how much we are loved.

CONCLUSION:

I don't want you to step back into those memories. I don't want you to step back at all today.

Instead I want you to step forward, because there is a greater love and a greater safety and a greater comfort than any of us could ever experience with our earthly families.

For those who've never experienced that kind of love, comfort and safety, let me tell you, you're in for a treat. For those of you who grew up loved, it doesn't matter if your parents were an amalgam of Jim and Margaret Anderson, Ozzie and Harriet, the Cleavers and Donna Reed or not, that love, comfort and safety is nothing compared to God's.

And this morning God invites us to an old fashioned family feast. Remember those? Food spread for miles it seemed like. And it was you could eat of food from the best cooks in the world. Only today God has invited you. And God has prepared the guest of honor spot just for you. His precious child.

Today God wants you to remember what Jesus did for you on the cross. Today God wants you to remember that the tomb is empty. And today God wants you to remember how much you are loved, through this simple banquet of love.

[1] See what love the Father has given us

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Preaching Magazine (Preaching Resources, Jackson, TN)

Circuit Rider, (The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, TN)

The Interpreter's Bible, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1953)

The New Interpreter's Bible, (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1995)

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