Our Children Are a Part of Us
What an amazing piece of art, digital though it may be. In it, the essence and even substance of the child is "made" from the essense and substance of the parent. The one's holes are the other's gain.
[Though it is digital] it is not an AI-generated piece. It was created by Chad Knight, a digital artist known for his surreal and emotionally resonant 3D art … this sculpture is a digital creation and doesn’t exist as a tangible, physical object. It was rendered using 3D modeling software and is meant to be experienced visually on screens rather than in a gallery or museum space.
This grpahic artistry captures beautifully the symbiotic relationship between parent and child. Our children are literally formed out of the matter our own physical being -- the egg, the sperm, the DNA which we contribute. Then as we raise them, we continually, sacrificially give ourselves to them for their growth and welfare. Over time, they are molded and shaped by the fabric of our being, and then reflect, to some measure, the image of our likeness. We are inextricably intertwined.
And yet, as significant as our own symbiotic relationship is with our children, it is infinitely more true of our relationship with God, our Father. We are made in His image. It is He that has made us. In the Person of Jesus, He sacrficed Himself for our own welfare. He is our ultimate model, and we are called to be conformed to His image.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27, ESV).
"And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24, ESV).
Saving Up to Pay for Adoption
Fourteen year old Tyce Pender of Cayce, S.C., has started his own lawn mowing business using a $200 loan from his mom to buy a new lawnmower, rake, and leaf blower. To date, he’s mowed nearly 20 lawns and earned over $400.
That’s a nice stack of cash! He could now afford a new video game system, a primo new bike, or even some great new threads. But Tyce isn’t saving for games, gadgets, or new clothes. He’s saving for something far more important — his own adoption!
Tyce’s step-dad, Eric Jenkins, came into his life when he was just 2 yrs old. He’s been there every step of the way to raise him, mentor, him, encourage him, discipline him, provide for him, and protect him. He’s been everything a father could and should be to Tyce.
The family’s goal, from the beginning, was for Eric to adopt him. Yet times are hard and finances are short. So both Tyce and Eric have had to be patient and settle for Eric's fulfilling the role of "awesome step-dad" rather than "adoptive father." But their patience may not have to hold out much longer if Tyce has his way.
He has committed himself fully to raising money and saving toward the legal fees necessary for him to officially take Jenkin’s name and to be able, finally, to call him his legal father.
"This is important because Eric teaches me respect, independence and what a man is supposed to be," explained Tyce. "If anything ever happens to my mom, Eric is who I'd want to live with. … Court is expensive," said Tyce. "I thought I could make enough money to pay for the adoption."
Tyce may have to work hard to pay the legal fees required to be officially recognized as Jenkin’s son, and good on him for doing so!
But thanks be to God that adoption into His family has been paid in full by Jesus Himself!
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:4-7, ESV).
“This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring” (Romans 9:8, ESV).
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God … “ (John 1:12, ESV).
My Name Is Null
A man claims to have been given free hotel and car rentals, just because he changed his last name to "Null." The Daily Mail reports:
Raven Felix Null, 24, from the United States, says he changed his surname after becoming an adult and claims the word 'Null' is incompatible with a lot of computer programming, leading to many systems not recognising him as a person.
The programming fault means that when an employee puts the word 'null' into the surname box on an IT system, it will recognise the word as meaning 'an absence of data', and refuse to validate it.
The glitch often results in an IT failure where Raven isn't billed for the item he has bought.
But Raven is quick to point out that he didn't change his name to get free stuff. Rather, he claims he did it to reflect his estrangement from his family. He chose the word "null" because, he said "it means nothing, meaning I am not connected to my 'family' in any way anymore."
The story people pick up on here isn’t the real story. This isn’t a story about getting free stuff. It’s a story about the great void in this young man’s life in the absence of a loving family -- a void that is felt so deeply that he chose to change his name to Null.
Sadly, there are countless others who feel the same way. But just because you grew up in a dysfunctional home, that doesn’t mean your name has to be “Null.”
Instead, you can chose to turn to your Father in Heaven, Who loves you with an everlasting love. And although your earthly family may have abandoned you--leaving you feeling distant and alone--your Father in Heaven will never do that. Rather, He promises to fill you with His love, and He welcomes you into His eternal family, the Church, and into the fellowship of Christ’s love.
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love" (John 15:9).
"[Father] I [Jesus] am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me" (John 17:23, NLT).