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. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3-10 NIV)

It is a true love story.  A single missionary gets a call late in the night to come rescue an abandoned baby.   Not even thinking of caring for a child, she takes the baby to an orphanage the next day.  But she can’t get the baby girl out of her mind and so visits her every day.  Seeing she is getting lost in a sea of babies, she decides to take her home.  In those early days, a connection forms and the woman begins to feel a love that only a mother can have.  After four years of winding through a tedious adoption process, this single woman legally became the mother to a child she had loved since that rainy night she first held her in her arms.  Since then, that baby has grown into a young girl struggling with her identity and her past, yet her mother’s love remains steadfast.

Adoption is never easy.  It always requires a great deal of sacrifice in both time and treasure.  If one is adopted, she is truly loved. 

So when Paul says we have been chosen for adoption, we should sit up and take notice.  It means God felt connected to us from the beginning and was willing to pay the cost to bring us home with Him.  The death of His only Son was the price He paid, but He considered it worth it to have us as His children.  And once He has us home, He lavishes His love on us.  This is no begrudging Father forced by circumstances into an adoption.  No, this is a Father who loves deeply and lavishes His love upon us freely.

Yet, as is true for most adopted children, no matter how much we are told we are loved by our Father, there are still doubts and we can sometimes lose ourselves in our search for validation.  But He remains true in his devotion to us regardless because His love for us is that deep.

Today, know your adoption by the Heavenly Father is a sign of how much you are loved.  He sacrificed what was most precious to Him in order to bring you home.  Yes, you may be mired in struggles over your identity as a child of God, but your Father’s love for you remains steadfast.

© Jim Musser 2017