The closer I grow to Christ, the more adoption means to me. Probably because God Himself says so much about it.
In Romans 8, He says this, "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, Abba! Father! The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God."
The life of a non-believer is often characterized by fear. Fear of death, fear of abandonment, fear of just about everything. Please don't hear me say that I never have fear in my life. Fear and anxiety are the main areas where the enemy loves to attack me. However, as I believer and lover of Jesus Christ, I know that fear is absolutely pointless, not to mention binding. The enemy has no power over me! Because of the blood of Jesus Christ, death has no power over me! The very "worst" thing that this world can throw at me is truly a victory! According to Romans, fear is slavery and we have received the gift of sonship. Instead of "Father" the word Abba is actually better translated as "Daddy" - God is not far away in Heaven, distant and vague. He is my Daddy who loves me and has adopted me into His family as His child!
Galatians 4:4-6 says this about who we are, "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
Jesus came, born to a sinful, yet obedient young girl, fathered by the Holy Spirit. It is mind boggling, it is one of those things that I can't wrap my mind around, but I choose to believe. This was the only way it could be done. The only way that Jesus could be the sacrificial lamb that could truly wash away the sins of mankind. Before He came, sacrifices were made to "cover" the sins, but nothing was ever done to truly wash them away. Jesus Christ, born of man and born of God could wash away the sins of man because He was literally both God and man.
Then, probably most amazing of all, God decided that He wanted us to be part of His forever family. In the "adoption" community there are many phrases that you often hear. One of these is the term "forever family." Another is the phrase "you were born in my heart." When a child has been abandoned or given up for adoption by his birth parents, he is lost and fearful. Afraid of growing up alone and longing for love. When an adoptive family comes along, they say to this child, 'we will love you forever and you will now be one of us.' An adoptive mother may say to her new son or daughter, 'you were not born from my body, but you were born in my heart.'
Likewise, God Himself says that He came to redeem us who were under the Law (and that is all of us), so that we could receive adoption as His sons. Did you catch that? The second we accept God's offer of salvation, we are sons and daughters of the Most High! We were lost and afraid, longing for a permanent place to belong; longing to know that someone would love us forever and never walk away. Just like adoptive parents strive to give their adopted sons or daughters the security of a loving family, God has adopted all of us into His family -- and He does it perfectly. We are literally "born again" in the heart of God Himself.
We never have to fear death or abandonment. We never have to wonder if He is there with us or if He has a plan for our lives. We can know, really know, without any shadow of a doubt that He is in control and His plans are always good.
All of these reasons, and more, are part of my desires to adopt. Never, for even a split second, have I wondered if I could love an adopted child as much as the ones I gave birth to. I know that I could - regardless of skin color or nationality. Never has blood or last names been an issue in our life. I love meeting new people and I love including people in our "family."
That is one of the reasons that this past weekend in Birmingham was so special to us. I posted a wedding picture not too long ago of my mother in law and her new husband. This weekend, we got to meet and hang out with Pete's two daughters and their husbands and children. My kids are beside themselves that they now have five new cousins! Another set of twins in the family that are soon to be five years old, a three year old, an 18 month old, and the newest arrival is just five weeks! We love children and we loved these children! I have no problem whatsoever thinking of them as my nephews and niece, and I have no problem at all thinking of the girls as my sisters in law, or whatever they would "technically" be if they were Stan's sisters. As I said, blood and last names just don't really matter much to us - relationships are what matters.
Last Sunday evening our kids were able to play with and love on a whole new part of our family. I was able to laugh and chat with two beautiful young women who I know I could grow to love, and Stan was able to meet and hang out with their husbands, young men who he really had a lot in common with and really enjoyed being around. Meanwhile, his mom and her new husband had all nine of their grandchildren in one house - and while it was loud and chaotic, as large families always are - it was a lot of fun. We sat down to a wonderful meal that they had prepared, we asked God to bless our food and our families, and we laughed and talked. It definitely did not feel like the first time we had all been together. It felt like we had known each other for a long time. The kids were comfortable with each other and as far as I could tell, the adults were too.
It truly made me think about our relationship with God and how He draws us in to Himself and calls us His family. Then, He blesses us here on this earth with the gift of our earthly family. Whether put together by blood, by marriage, or by choice, family is truly the greatest reward that we have right now. One day we will have Eternity and we will see Jesus face to face, but even then I believe with all of my heart that we will be relational. We will still live with and near those we love, the difference will be that there will be no more earthly sin to weigh us down and produce conflict in our relationships.
I am so thankful for the families God has given to me. I have a wonderful sister, brother in law, and nephew on my side - plus both my parents and one grandmother. There are numerous cousins and aunts and uncles as well. I also have my parents' best friends, Aunt JuJu and Uncle Dennis who are a perfect example of "adoption." As far as I am concerned, we are family - totally and completely joined, not by blood, but by choice. On Stan's side, his mom and step-dad and now two new sisters, four nephews, and a niece. He also has a brother and his dad, plus two grandmothers and cousins, aunts, and uncles too numerous to count.
We are blessed indeed.
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