When I heard that we were looking for gals to share their testimonies, I thought of volunteering, then decided I was much too busy and shouldn’t. But the thought kept coming up so on Monday I finally asked Heidi if we were looking for one more person to share. I was hoping she would say we didn’t have any time left. But she said there was plenty of time, so here I am. Instead of a life story, I just want to share with you a few things I have learned recently. They all have to do with adoption because that’s been on my mind a ton since Christmas because I know of about 4 or 5 families who are all at critical places on that road. But what I’m going to share is about my adoption. I am my parents’ biological daughter, but more important than that is that I have been adopted by God into His family. I was wandering away from Him, lost, and stuck in sin. I was young when I accepted Christ, but if I had been old enough to realize it, I was without hope, no way to win my way into God’s presence and love, and He reached down and brought me into His family of perfect eternal joy. So here are some things I’ve learned about what I’m going to call Vertical adoption (our adoption into God’s family) and Horizontal adoption (fathers and mothers adopting needy children into their families). These come from a book called “Adopted for Life” by Russell Moore and from sermons by John Piper, and a bit from my own reading of Romans recently.
1. God loves adoption, in fact He created it. In the beginning of Genesis we learn that God created man to be in a special close perfect relationship with Him. When Adam and Eve believed the lies of Satan rather than obeying God, that relationship was shattered forever. But, this was no surprise to God. He did think, “Darn it! They screwed up my perfect plan, so now I’ve gotta come up with something else. I know! I’ll pay the price and adopt them back in.” No, Eph 1:5 says He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will. Adoption was God’s original plan, His kind plan. He knew we would sin, and need a Savior, and need to be rescued, and He planned to do all that before time began. Verse 4 says he chose us, “before the foundation of the world.” Many people have adoption as Plan B. They discover they can’t have biological children, so they choose to adopt. I am glad they do, adoption is good and right. But what has been amazing to me is that adoption is Plan A in the story of the world. It’s not second rate, or less admirable, or less natural. Adoption both vertical and horizontal is precious, natural, and God-glorifying because it’s what God does.
2. Having been adopted, I am really God’s child.
It’s pretty common to hear and talk about how Jesus saved us from Hell. But that’s only a very itty bitty part of it. I’m no homeless gal He gave $10 bucks to before driving away. I’m not even some criminal who He took the punishment for. If he had just done that, I would feel afraid that he would eventually want His $10 back or that I needed to make it up to Him and if I couldn’t I’d be toast. But Romans 8:15 says, “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!” God chose me and adopted me! God forgave me for my sins, saved me, loves me, is cleaning me up by teaching me and disciplining me, and He unashamedly calls me His child. When I sin, He doesn’t distance Himself from me by saying, “oh well, she’s adopted.” He knew before I was created that I will continually do the very things He hates, but He chose me anyway and He loves me regardless of how good of a child I am.
You might have noticed that Ephesians 1:5 makes a point of saying adopted “as sons.” This is very cool. In the time the New Testament was being written, sons had special rights, a special status, and special responsibilities, as well as the promise of the inheritance from the father. For God to say that we have been adopted as sons, means He adopted us and, regardless of gender, gives us the all those special rights, responsibilities and status. I don’t have to wonder about who I am. The Bible tells me my identity is: child of God (Jhn 1:12), heir of heaven (Rom 8:17); my life’s work is to do everything to His glory (1Cr 10:31), Christ is my brother (Mat 12:50), God is my Father (Romans 8:15), all of you who have believed in Christ as your Savior are my sisters, fellow heirs of God (Eph 3:6).
One more thing about being a real child of God: Russel Moore in Adopted for Life tells of the reaction his two toddler boys had on leaving the orphanage for the first and final time in their lives. They cried in panic and reached back toward the dirty doors. It was the only home they had ever known. They totally didn't understand that their new home was a much better place! Where they could play in the sun, eat healthy food, have affectionate and loving parents, and so much more! That totally describes me. I love so many things in my world. My "home" has tea lattes, and people who think highly of me (I think), we've got enough money to be comfortable, though I have a list of things I’d like to do with just a little more cash. I love my stuff, my space, and my ME-time so much I get annoyed when people mess up with it. What a crazy thing! I've got all heaven that is MINE! That is my home, I have streets of gold, and jeweled cities, I’ll be perfectly satisfied, and have a huge crowd of brothers and sisters with whom I'll get to party for God's glory for ever and ever! No one will ever interrupt me from getting to do what I’ll want to do most. My oldest Brother Jesus, the one who died to save me, is there! I am so excited and humbled at how God has rescued me and He loves me, even when I'm bad, with a true Father's love! And Ephesians 3:6 says that is your home, too, if you believe in Christ and call God your Father.
3. These are the things that have made me super excited recently, and super thankful to my Daddy for adopting me. Now, I just want to encourage you to spend some time thinking about adoption. As you read your Bibles, notice how that topic is everywhere! And then pray about how God might use you to continue showing the world what God has done for us. Participating in Horizontal adoption is a way of imitating our God and of proclaiming the glory of the gospel to ourselves, our families, our communities, and the world. In James chapter 1 James writes, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Now neither Russell Moore’s book, nor any of the sources of my points says that every must adopt. They clearly say, and I agree, that not everyone is called to adopt. But everyone is called to love and care for others, whether neighbor (Gal 5:14) or enemy (Luk 6:35), and orphans and widows definitely fall in between those. Here are some ideas of ways we can all be involved:
1) Learn about our own adoption. If you aren’t adopted into God’s family yet, then that is what you need to do first. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.
2) Pray about how God would have you display His same affection and compassion toward orphans. It might be praying for orphans, or support adoption Funds that help adoptive families to deal with the high cost, or sponsoring orphans in their native countries, or helping friends through the adoption process, or minister to pregnant moms or teens. It might be by adopting. If so, we have a perfect example in our Heavenly Father of how we are to love these little guys in exactly the same way we do or should our biological children. All of these ways will help us to speak and live out the good news of the gospel to a world that desperately needs to hear it.
In Conclusion here’s how my view of adoption has changed. Before learning these things I thought of adoption as this: a beautiful but unfortunately infertile couple pays a few thousand $$, then fly across the world to scoop up a smiling chubby Chinese baby girl, and they live happily ever after. That’s a beautiful picture, though I think we all know it’s woefully inaccurate. Here is a picture that is better and true:
God, perfect and holy, lacking nothing, chose to display His glory by loving an ugly, stubborn, lie-believing, self-absorbed girl with huge “special needs” enough to send His perfectly obedient, only Son, to pay the adoption price to rescue her, that is, me. The price was death. Now I am legally His, but am living on Earth until He comes to bring me to my real home, one with streets paved with gold, where there will never be any tears, any hurt, any sadness or anger. And not only this, but while I am still living on earth, He is with me, teaching me how to be His child now, protecting me from evil. That is adoption in the purest sense, and horizontal adoption ought to reflect that.
Eph 2:4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”
