The Deepness of Adoption

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:3-8)

Ever since I first met my beautiful adopted cousins when I was just an awkward pre-teen, I've desired to provide a home for those who had none, just as my aunt did for my cousins. And as I've gotten older and come to understand the beauty of what God has done for me through Christ, my desire to love others the way He first loved me - to give others a place the way God gave me one - only deepened my desire to adopt. As Paul says to the Ephesians in the passage above, God planned before time even began to show His amazing, glorious love to us through adoption. He planned to give His only Son - whom He loved so much - as a sacrifice for us so we could be adopted into His family. He planned to bring us from nothing and make us sons and daughters, so we could see how very deep His love is for us. Beginning to understand this - and I know the deepness of God's adoption for us will take my whole life to even begin to understand - has given me a deep desire to show love to the most lonely, most hurting, most vulnerable people. And most often the most vulnerable are children, especially those without parents to take care of them the way God intended.

And living in DC this past year has opened my eyes to the meaning of "adoption" in even deeper ways. There is so much brokenness in our culture today - and almost every single issue of brokennes we see around us can be traced back to broken families. There are so many children in the foster care system who have never known the unconditional love of two parents. There are so many children who still live with one or both of their biological parents but still do not receive the love and affirmation God desires them to have through their earthly parents. Whether it is through talking to an employee at DC Child Welfare Services, hearing my husband talk about his 5th grade students, or seeing how a mother interacts with her child on the street - there are so many children who need to be "adopted." Whether legally adopted into our homes, or adopted through mentorship and discipleship, God has called us all to show the love He has shown us to others. And adoption is one of the most tangible ways - if not the most tangible way - we can do this. And while I do believe Stephen and I will legally adopt a child into our home someday, and while I believe God has blessed many with the desire and resources to legally adopt, others might not be called to adopt in that way. But I believe we are all called to give the world a glimpse of our adoption into God's family by adopting others into our family in some way.

I just read a thought-provoking article on urban ministry called "Discipling Urban Youth," where the author, Tyler Staton, highlighted the importance of discipleship. As I often need to be reminded, Christ didn't call us to start an orgnaization that saves the world or try to come up with a plan that will change a city overnght. He called us to be intentional with a few others in our life - loving them, discipling them, and bringing them closer to Him. And through doing this, the world will be changed, but by bit. Because Christ knew that through doing this - through intentionally pouring our lives into a few others, walking with them, discipling them as He did His disciples - He knew that they would feel the same feeling of adoption into a family as we felt at one point into His family. And it is this adoption into our lives that will help others get a glimpse of God's love for them, of God's reconciliation and adoption into His family for all eternity.

So whether you're at the place where you're ready and able to legally adopt a child into your family forever, whether you're at the place where you can meet with a child once a week, or whether you can go into a local teacher's classroom and help tutor some students on a regular basis - we are all called to adopt in some way. We are called to live differently - to live in such a way that Christ's redemption can be seen in our lives. And in our world today, there are enough children without families, without parents to show them the unconditional love of God, that this is an obvious area where God is asking us to live differently for Him. Whether it be giving up time with friends, time relaxing at home, or some over-time at work, I truly believe this is a way we can be "salt and light" in this world, helping to bring the Kingdom of God into this world. Adopting children into our lives - whether they be 2 months old or 22 years old - is a need the Church can fill in every coutnry in the world, and an incredibly beautiul way to show God's eternal love to the restof the world.

I've been thinking and praying with Stephen and some others at my church about ways the Church in DC can step in this gap and help lead the movemnt of adoption in DC. There is much space in the foster care system, in our public schools, and in many other places for the Church to step in. So please be praying for us as we seek to dsicern God's will for us in this area. Most importantly, be praying about how God is calling you to show His heart for adoption to this hurting world.

FYI: One of my pastors, Amy, preached a sermon last week on restoring the family, foster care, and adoption. It is definitely worth a listen! You can go here to check it out.