Random Thoughts

Been Away for a while. Sometimes I find it hard to blog a deep thought. You can decide if that's because I have so few of them or they are too deep for words. However, I've decided that I'm going to try just blogging some of the wonderings and wanderings I have throughout the day. Here are a few that are occupying my mind at the moment.

• In the Name of Christ... In John 14 Christ tells us that whatever we ask "in my name" he will do it for us. So often that line has been misinterpreted and misused. Back in the day, to do something "in my name" meant that you were acting on the authority and in the character of the person named. For instance in old movies when a cop would say "Stop in the name of the law" he was saying that by the authority of the laws of the land you were he had the power to command you to stop. This "in my name" is a legal "agency." As an agent of Christ you have his authority to act in the way he acted and say the things he said. So when you ask for something "in his name" it must be consistent with his character. When Janis Joplin sings "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz..." she doesn't get it because that wouldn't be consistent with "Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." (Matt 8:20)

• Happy Family Day. A friend on facebook posted that today is the celebration of the 8th year that her adopted daughter has been a part of their family. There was a time when families kept adoption secret from the children, but today those things are much more open. (Besides, how does a white, Germanic family hide the adoption from their Chinese daughter?) This got me to thinking that all Christians are adopted as well. How many of us regularly (and publicly) celebrate the adoption we have through our baptism? Or are we just keeping that a secret from others?