Last Sunday we considered the joy of adoption. This Sunday we talk about the challenge of living an adopted life. To that point: it is simple enough to get the child out of the orphanage, but it is much harder to get the orphanage out of the child. Or to put it more practically: how do we actually change? Even if I know what I should do, I often continue doing the same old things. Theologians call this process mortification (dying to our sins) and vivification (growing in our new life). But what does it look like? How can spiritual orphans like us grow into our new family life? Let's talk about "An Orphan's Life #2" (1 John 3:1-10).
