Cabbage Patch Kids
Stories
THE WONDER OF WORDS: BOOK 2
ONE-HUNDRED MORE WORDS AND PHRASES SHAPING HOW CHRISTIANS THINK AND LIVE
Cabbage Patch Kids are dolls invented by Xavier Roberts. They are said to come from "BabyLand General Hospital" in Cleveland, Georgia. According to the legend of the Cabbage Patch Kids, a young boy named Xavier stumbled upon an enchanted Cabbage Patch. There he discovered little people who called themselves Cabbage Patch Kids. Xavier Roberts has turned that idea and his original $300 of materials into a multi-million dollar corporation. People wait in lines, all night, in front of stores that have a supply of these dolls, so they can buy one for their children.
Christians can find four lessons from these Cabbage Patch Kids. First, like those dolls, we are adopted. With each doll comes an individualized birth certificate and adoption papers. In the New Testament, the metaphor of adoption is used to describe God's unearned kindness to us, expressed in Jesus of Nazareth. As the only natural Son of God, Jesus shares with us his intimate relationship with God his Father. "You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry, 'Abba, Father'." (Romans 8:15)
Second, like those dolls, we now belong to a family. "You are now ... members of the family of God," wrote St. Paul. (Ephesians 2:19) The language of our faith is derived from the family circle: God is our father; the church is our mother; Christ is our elder brother; and the altar in the church is our family table.
Third, like those dolls, we are comforted by one who loves us with a mother's love. Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke, using feminine imagery to tell of his care: "As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you." (Isaiah 66:13)
Fourth, like those dolls, we are lovingly dressed. When the erring son returned home in Jesus' parable about the loving Father, "the father called to his servants. 'Hurry!' he said. 'Bring the best robe and put it on him'." (Luke 15:22) By being dressed in that robe, the son was not only forgiven, but was received with honor. Reflecting on the parable, St. Paul wrote: "You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself." (Galatians 3:27)
Christians can find four lessons from these Cabbage Patch Kids. First, like those dolls, we are adopted. With each doll comes an individualized birth certificate and adoption papers. In the New Testament, the metaphor of adoption is used to describe God's unearned kindness to us, expressed in Jesus of Nazareth. As the only natural Son of God, Jesus shares with us his intimate relationship with God his Father. "You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry, 'Abba, Father'." (Romans 8:15)
Second, like those dolls, we now belong to a family. "You are now ... members of the family of God," wrote St. Paul. (Ephesians 2:19) The language of our faith is derived from the family circle: God is our father; the church is our mother; Christ is our elder brother; and the altar in the church is our family table.
Third, like those dolls, we are comforted by one who loves us with a mother's love. Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke, using feminine imagery to tell of his care: "As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you." (Isaiah 66:13)
Fourth, like those dolls, we are lovingly dressed. When the erring son returned home in Jesus' parable about the loving Father, "the father called to his servants. 'Hurry!' he said. 'Bring the best robe and put it on him'." (Luke 15:22) By being dressed in that robe, the son was not only forgiven, but was received with honor. Reflecting on the parable, St. Paul wrote: "You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself." (Galatians 3:27)
