All of us appreciate hearing Good News. Am I right?! When a person has waited on Good News the better part of fifty years, it can’t come too soon. Nearly a year ago, I posted about my good friend Joseph Wood who has been researching the details of his parentage, having been abandoned as an infant and found wrapped in a blanket-lined basket, mere hours after his 1965 birth.
Joseph’s delightful story has now made its way to the pages of the Chicago Tribune where it will (hopefully) garner attention and lead (at long last) to a reunion with the family of his birth. (Thanks to Mary Schmich for kindly featuring Joseph’s story!)
There’s already a basket-load of Good News related to Joseph’s story … even as he was abandoned, he was lovingly placed where he’d be found, he was lovingly adopted, he was nurtured in a loving home and all along the way, God had His hand on the lad – who grew into a man, husband, father, as well as a respected and admired friend who currently serves the State of Arkansas as our Deputy Secretary of State.
With Joseph’s story reaching Chicago’s metro readership, I know he’d be thrilled with the Good News of a connection to his kin! I can’t imagine how I’d feel in his place … how I hope he’s successful!
Thinking about the long wait he’s endured, I’m reminded of another occasion when long-awaited news finally came. In the Old Testament, God had promised His people a Messiah. Numerous scriptures refer to the hoped-for “advent.” As far back as Genesis 3, God told Adam and Eve even though their sin had brought judgment, a future Messiah would come and “crush” the head of the serpent.
God’s people been waiting so long, many of them had begun doubting God’s promise, expecting God’s Good News was simply a pipe dream, one of those family stories that gets grander and grander after having been handed down for generations … and might have been somebody’s unlikely dream to begin with!
In God’s timing however, Jesus Christ entered time and space to be the Good News of God’s promise made to His people centuries before. We know that Good News as the Gospel, the glad tidings announced by Jesus that redemption and salvation come through Him. This is Good News indeed!
Today’s sonnet relates truth from John’s Gospel, the fourth book of the New Testament in which the Apostle John gives a specific account of what he witnessed while following Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry. Here’s the really, really, really Good News … even after two thousand years, the message of the Gospel remains unchanged!
Nice one, once again!
Thank you Renee- I have truly been blessed to not only been given life but to have loving parents who raised me. Yes- the struggle has been deep in trying to understanding my identity. I was rooted in my identity in Christ yet I yearned to know where I came from, circumstances that led to me being given up for adoption, and even more recent- why was I abandoned. Not given up for adoption as I believed my entire life.Really? Abandoned?! Tthat will gut check you for sure!
I loved my mom who adopted me. I used to thank her for adopting me all the time and it would anger her as she did not see me as her adopted child- she saw me as hers! Period. I am also in love with my birth mom – why? She had me! Part of who I am is who she is -God did that and I am blessed for it. My journey continues and I thank you for sharing it Renee!
Joseph, even though I don’t share your specific history, I too have always needed answers to the question Who am I? When our identities are rooted in Christ, we can have peace no matter what.
Nevertheless, I think part of how God created us drives us to seek answers for that question. It’s the road to understanding. Ultimately, no matter how that question is answered for us here, I’m confident one day we will stand complete in Him. That will be the best Good News of all!
I’m always honored by your comments! R.