Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5
I know that we just did a devotional dedicated to being sons and daughters of God, but I was going through my friend’s Facebook notes and wanted to share this from my dear friend, author Andrea Barringer.[1] (Bible Verses are added to the note by me).
Adoption
This morning I was thinking about adoption. It's something that has been on my heart since I was a child. It's not the kid's fault that they were born into a situation where their original parents couldn't support them due to any number of circumstances. Why should the child suffer the consequences? Don't they disserve love as well? Thankfully, Jim also supports the idea of adoption and it may be something we do later on in life when our daughter is in college.
That idea made me start thinking. If I adopt that means every blessing that I bestow on my own child/children has to be the same for my adoptive child. For example, if Jim and I have a will in which we would leave our earthly possessions to our daughter we would also have to include our adoptive child into that will. If you didn't do that, it would show that perhaps you didn't truly treat them like your own child. Likewise, you wouldn't introduce your adoptive child as "This is _____ my adopted kid". You would introduce them as "This is my child, ______".
When you adopt you are saying with your heart, soul and mind that the child is yours. Fully yours. And just as when you wish to adopt a child the child also has to accept the offer. You can't storm into a place and say to a kid "I'm adopting you whether you like it or not". That wouldn't be very loving, now would it?
This may all sound like commonsense.
Of course all of this made me think of the FACT that I have been adopted into God's family. Galatians 4:1-5 says,
“I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
God paid the price of adoption and truly accepts me as one of His own. My name is written in the book of life (that will). With my name being on that book of life I am granted eternal life with Him in heaven. (Luke 10:20, Revelation 20:15). I get His love, grace, mercy, etc. But as I said earlier, with every adoption the kid has to make a decision, whether to accept it or not.
God offers salvation and a true relationship with Him as our heavenly Father, but we have to accept it. If not, we just don't get those gifts. We don't get to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. John 1:9-13 reads.
“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
And, as with most huge families there WILL be a huge family reunion. If you have lost someone recently like a child, parent, spouse, or grandparent I know you are hurting. But just as when we buy our plane ticket to go to a much anticipated epic family reunion we will get to do the same once we are in heaven as long as those loved ones were adopted into God's family. We WILL get that epic family reunion in heaven. There are a lot of people that I miss, mainly my Abuela (grandma). I know I'll see her again, for she too, was adopted into God's family.
It's comforting to know that God's love for us is real. It's wide. It knows no depths. I am thankful for His love for me.
[1] You can find Andrea’s book Into the Trenches on Amazon at http://goo.gl/2XHZov
Adoption
This morning I was thinking about adoption. It's something that has been on my heart since I was a child. It's not the kid's fault that they were born into a situation where their original parents couldn't support them due to any number of circumstances. Why should the child suffer the consequences? Don't they disserve love as well? Thankfully, Jim also supports the idea of adoption and it may be something we do later on in life when our daughter is in college.
That idea made me start thinking. If I adopt that means every blessing that I bestow on my own child/children has to be the same for my adoptive child. For example, if Jim and I have a will in which we would leave our earthly possessions to our daughter we would also have to include our adoptive child into that will. If you didn't do that, it would show that perhaps you didn't truly treat them like your own child. Likewise, you wouldn't introduce your adoptive child as "This is _____ my adopted kid". You would introduce them as "This is my child, ______".
When you adopt you are saying with your heart, soul and mind that the child is yours. Fully yours. And just as when you wish to adopt a child the child also has to accept the offer. You can't storm into a place and say to a kid "I'm adopting you whether you like it or not". That wouldn't be very loving, now would it?
This may all sound like commonsense.
Of course all of this made me think of the FACT that I have been adopted into God's family. Galatians 4:1-5 says,
“I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
God paid the price of adoption and truly accepts me as one of His own. My name is written in the book of life (that will). With my name being on that book of life I am granted eternal life with Him in heaven. (Luke 10:20, Revelation 20:15). I get His love, grace, mercy, etc. But as I said earlier, with every adoption the kid has to make a decision, whether to accept it or not.
God offers salvation and a true relationship with Him as our heavenly Father, but we have to accept it. If not, we just don't get those gifts. We don't get to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. John 1:9-13 reads.
“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
And, as with most huge families there WILL be a huge family reunion. If you have lost someone recently like a child, parent, spouse, or grandparent I know you are hurting. But just as when we buy our plane ticket to go to a much anticipated epic family reunion we will get to do the same once we are in heaven as long as those loved ones were adopted into God's family. We WILL get that epic family reunion in heaven. There are a lot of people that I miss, mainly my Abuela (grandma). I know I'll see her again, for she too, was adopted into God's family.
It's comforting to know that God's love for us is real. It's wide. It knows no depths. I am thankful for His love for me.
[1] You can find Andrea’s book Into the Trenches on Amazon at http://goo.gl/2XHZov
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