"Nature is all good and fair in itself, and Grace was sent out to save Nature and destroy sin, and bring again fair nature to the blessed point from whence it came: that is God; with more nobleness and worship by the virtuous working of Grace."
Julian of Norwich (Ch. 63)
It's really always been about family. We have made it about sin and guilt and law and condemnation and death and punishment. But it has really always only been about family. We are family with God. God is Father, Mother, Brother to us. We came forth from God and have always been sons and daughters of God. We have always belonged in the family circle of the Godhead as treasured, precious children. Our nature is God-like, inherited from God, and therefore good and noble, fair and virtuous. We heard and believed a lie about who we are, getting confused and thinking we were not God's children, not good enough, not belonging with God. We felt God was pulling back from us, that He was not satisfied with us, that He was judging us, that He was angry with us. This is one way to look at what we call sin - simply believing lies about who we are and who God is. Because of believing such lies, we felt estranged from God and separated from Him. But we were only alienated from Him in our minds. This confused thinking caused so much anguish and suffering for us as we tried to live on our own the life we were meant to live in union relationship with God. We were missing out on the fellowship, love, acceptance, and belonging that God always had there for us. Christ came and reconciled us back to knowing God as Father, as love, as grace, and back to knowing ourselves as God's children, as precious, as beloved. He saved our fair and good nature from sin - from the lies we had believed that were keeping us from relationship with our Trinity family. Now we can enjoy those family bonds of love and fellowship again. Our minds have been brought back to the place we came from, have been brought home to God, even though He was truly with us all along. The difference is that now the dark clouds of confusion are gone and we can see Him here with us! We can see that we are home, that we really only left home in our minds. Now can truly enjoy being home. Relationship is restored. We can share happy times together. We can enjoy belonging, enjoy acceptance, enjoy life together! All we have gone through has simply raised us to new heights in our awareness of just how much God loves us, of just how far God would go to rescue us from our darkness and confusion and pain. We are bonded more closely than ever and given even more joys and honor, treated as precious and celebrated with parties. And we shall never be estranged in that relationship with God ever again. We are family and we are permanently safe there in relationship with God. It's always been about family!
God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children.
Romans 8:16 (MSG)
A Prayer: I'm home with You where I belong, where I have always belonged!