Delia and I were blessed to get to attend the Adopting for Life conference at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The speakers were awesome, and the music was phenomenal. The songs, the sermons, the talks, and the testimonies were so Christ-focused and gospel centered that it left a profound mark on my mind. I am struggling to put it into words, I feel so emotionally drained (in a good way).
The conference centered around the issue of adoption and its connection to the gospel. As we care for orphans, we are fulfilling the Great Commission. More than that, we are imitating the gospel. When a family adopts it takes someone who was a foreigner biologically and makes them family. In the same way, through adoption, God brings those who were foreigners to the promises, and makes them his children.
Adoption is a part of God's plan for making families, and we get to take part in that. We are walking in our Father's footsteps when we care for orphans. Delia and I have been considering another adoption in the near future, and have been working toward that. What I heard during this conference confirmed these desires. We are all called to care for the orphan, if we are really of the faith, although not every one is called to adopt.
I feel tremendously blessed to have been used of the Lord to adopt. Both of my girls, (Ellie, who has gone on to be with the Lord, and Sophia), were brought into my life through the gift of adoption. In eternity, before I was formed and brought forth into this world, God had set me apart for this entrance into fatherhood. The very thought of this makes my mind want to explode. My heart is bursting with joy and gratitude and fear. And to think that somewhere out there, around the corner of providence, God may have more children waiting to call me daddy. It's too much to comprehend.
If they post the audio from the conference, I'll post a link. The messages are worth listening to. Let me close by encouraging you to consider your role in ministry of orphan care. Are you being called to adopt a child? Are you being called to assist someone who is adopting? Seize the opportunity, and respond in heartfelt obedience. You'll be changing someone's life (or many lives) forever.
Showing posts with label Adoption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adoption. Show all posts
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Adoption Parallels
This article was originally published here, on September 6, 2009.
Article XII of the Baptist Confession of Faith 1689 (the 2nd London Confession) is a tremendous expression of the biblical doctrine of adoption. It states:
Benjamin Keach, the seventeen century Baptist leader and pastor, stated it succinctly: "Adoption is an act of God’s free grace, by which we are received into the company of God’s children and have a right to all the privileges of his sons" (Baptist Catechism, Answer to Question 38).
Let’s look at some of the parallels between our adoption as God’s children and the process of adopting a child. We must remember that no analogy is a perfect point-for-point comparison.
Adoption, both spiritual and physical, begins with a decision. Adoptive parents, unlike biological parents, get to choose their children. An adoptive parent is often given the opportunity to see photos of a child or children and given the option of saying, "yes" or "no." Their decision brings a child, that they are not biologically attached to, into the realm of their love. Spiritual adoption rests on God’s choice. Although God is the Creator of humanity he is not the Father of humanity. Jesus gave us the divine paternity test: "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am now here. . . .You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire" (John 8:42-44). John, Jesus’ disciple, states, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brothers" (1 John 3:10). God chose to save us and to bring us into his family. Jesus states, "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16a). John states, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 1:9).
After the choice has been made, the process of wooing begins. Adoptive parents have a tremendous task before them. Even in the best circumstances the children that are adopted are removed from their original environment (say the womb of their birth mother where they have become acquainted with her heart beat and voice or from a foster home or orphanage, etc.), and thrust into a whole new world. The sights, sounds, and sensations are all different, maybe even frightening. The adoptive parent must begin helping the child to develop attachments. The heavenly pattern is helpful. If we first love them (the biblical concept of love is not sentimental, but action oriented), that is if we nurture them, give them affection, and lovingly discipline them, they will come to love us. Spiritually speaking this is the process of drawing or calling. God, through the Holy Spirit, convicts us of our sin, convinces us of our need for righteousness and our coming judgment, and compels us to repent and believe.
Embracing us in his love, God conforms us into the image of his Son. Adoptive parents also conform their children into a desired image. Adoptive parents will often change the child’s name. This is more than a demonstration of authority over a child; it is a demonstration of the radical transformation that has taken place in a child’s life. It marks the passing of the old standard and being brought into a new one. Look at Jacob, after his encounter with God, he goes from being "deceiver" (Jacob means deceiver) to "one who struggles [with God and man]" (Israel means he struggles with God, see Gen 33:22-32). In a sense, God is demonstrating his authority over Jacob, but he is also signaling that Jacob is not the same person anymore and the narrative of Jacob’s life bears this out (see Gen 25:19-37:11).
Suppose John and Jane Smith want to adopt Song Lu from China. Many would suggest they help Song Lu maintain as much of her Chinese heritage as possible. However, Song Lu, is no longer Chinese, she is a Smith now with all that it entails. Instead of celebrating Chinese New Year with firecrackers, the Smith’s celebrate New Years with creating a list of resolutions that will be broken in a couple of days. Instead of offering incense in a Buddhist shrine, the Smith’s are faithful Christians who take their daughter to church. They may like the name Song Lu, or they may want to name her after some relative. Song Lu becomes Sarah Beth Smith. Whatever her heritage was in China, it can never be that again. A radical change has occurred in her life that can never be undone.
Radical change is exactly what happens to us in Christ. We who were once "excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promises, without hope and without God in the world. . . . have been brought near through the blood of Christ" (Eph 2:12-13). We are now "heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings, in order that we may also share in his glory" (Rom 8:17). This reality is why Paul states, "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone the new has come!" (2 Cor 5:17).
It is said that many adopted children struggle with their adoption. Many wonder if life would have been different (better) with their biological parents, or if there was something wrong with them (because they were given away), and the list goes on. Adoption and how it is handled affects the way children perceive their adoption. It is no different spiritually speaking. We often overlook the concept of adoption as a biblical description for salvation. And often when we do think about spiritual adoption we look at it through cultural glasses that are clouded with misconceptions. The adoptive child shares the same reality as the biological one. Spiritually speaking, many of the doubts that plague Christians today concerning their salvation and/or worth before God stem from a misunderstanding of their own adoption.
This misunderstanding may be a reason God frequently confirms the believer’s status as his child. John states, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him" (1 John 3:1, NIV). Again John states, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands" (1 John 5:1-2). Paul states, "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children" (Rom 8:15-16).
I hope the truth of these words soaks into the very fiber of your being. I hope, that those of you who are in Christ, receive from the Spirit that abiding confidence. I pray that if you don’t have Christ, that the Spirit will open your eyes to the truth and draw you into the family. I also hope that thinking about our adoption into the family of God will shape your thinking about adoption in general. I hope you will grasp the reality of being God’s child and that it will help you see that while biology is important it is not ultimate. We have a family that is eternal. The plain teaching of Christ reminds us that not all those who are biologically related to us will be in heaven, but only those who, through obedient faith, trust the Lord. I believe one day we will lay our biology down in the dust. All that will remain is the family formed for and through Christ to the glory of the Father.
Article XII of the Baptist Confession of Faith 1689 (the 2nd London Confession) is a tremendous expression of the biblical doctrine of adoption. It states:
Paragraph 1: All those that are justified, God conferred, in and for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption (Eph 1:5; Gal 4:4-5), by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God (John 1:12; Rom 8:17), have his name put on them (2 Cor 6:18; Rev 3:12), receive the Spirit of adoption (Rom 8:15), have access to the throne of grace with boldness, are able to cry Abba, Father (Gal 4:6; Eph 2:18), are pitied (Ps 103:13), protected (Prov 14:26; 1 Pet 5:7), provided for (Heb 12:6) and chastened by him as by a Father (Isa 54:8-9), yet never cast off (Lam 3:31), but sealed to the day of Redemption (Eph 4:30), and inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation (Heb 1:14, 6:12).
Benjamin Keach, the seventeen century Baptist leader and pastor, stated it succinctly: "Adoption is an act of God’s free grace, by which we are received into the company of God’s children and have a right to all the privileges of his sons" (Baptist Catechism, Answer to Question 38).
Let’s look at some of the parallels between our adoption as God’s children and the process of adopting a child. We must remember that no analogy is a perfect point-for-point comparison.
Adoption, both spiritual and physical, begins with a decision. Adoptive parents, unlike biological parents, get to choose their children. An adoptive parent is often given the opportunity to see photos of a child or children and given the option of saying, "yes" or "no." Their decision brings a child, that they are not biologically attached to, into the realm of their love. Spiritual adoption rests on God’s choice. Although God is the Creator of humanity he is not the Father of humanity. Jesus gave us the divine paternity test: "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am now here. . . .You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire" (John 8:42-44). John, Jesus’ disciple, states, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brothers" (1 John 3:10). God chose to save us and to bring us into his family. Jesus states, "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16a). John states, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 1:9).
After the choice has been made, the process of wooing begins. Adoptive parents have a tremendous task before them. Even in the best circumstances the children that are adopted are removed from their original environment (say the womb of their birth mother where they have become acquainted with her heart beat and voice or from a foster home or orphanage, etc.), and thrust into a whole new world. The sights, sounds, and sensations are all different, maybe even frightening. The adoptive parent must begin helping the child to develop attachments. The heavenly pattern is helpful. If we first love them (the biblical concept of love is not sentimental, but action oriented), that is if we nurture them, give them affection, and lovingly discipline them, they will come to love us. Spiritually speaking this is the process of drawing or calling. God, through the Holy Spirit, convicts us of our sin, convinces us of our need for righteousness and our coming judgment, and compels us to repent and believe.
Embracing us in his love, God conforms us into the image of his Son. Adoptive parents also conform their children into a desired image. Adoptive parents will often change the child’s name. This is more than a demonstration of authority over a child; it is a demonstration of the radical transformation that has taken place in a child’s life. It marks the passing of the old standard and being brought into a new one. Look at Jacob, after his encounter with God, he goes from being "deceiver" (Jacob means deceiver) to "one who struggles [with God and man]" (Israel means he struggles with God, see Gen 33:22-32). In a sense, God is demonstrating his authority over Jacob, but he is also signaling that Jacob is not the same person anymore and the narrative of Jacob’s life bears this out (see Gen 25:19-37:11).
Suppose John and Jane Smith want to adopt Song Lu from China. Many would suggest they help Song Lu maintain as much of her Chinese heritage as possible. However, Song Lu, is no longer Chinese, she is a Smith now with all that it entails. Instead of celebrating Chinese New Year with firecrackers, the Smith’s celebrate New Years with creating a list of resolutions that will be broken in a couple of days. Instead of offering incense in a Buddhist shrine, the Smith’s are faithful Christians who take their daughter to church. They may like the name Song Lu, or they may want to name her after some relative. Song Lu becomes Sarah Beth Smith. Whatever her heritage was in China, it can never be that again. A radical change has occurred in her life that can never be undone.
Radical change is exactly what happens to us in Christ. We who were once "excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promises, without hope and without God in the world. . . . have been brought near through the blood of Christ" (Eph 2:12-13). We are now "heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings, in order that we may also share in his glory" (Rom 8:17). This reality is why Paul states, "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone the new has come!" (2 Cor 5:17).
It is said that many adopted children struggle with their adoption. Many wonder if life would have been different (better) with their biological parents, or if there was something wrong with them (because they were given away), and the list goes on. Adoption and how it is handled affects the way children perceive their adoption. It is no different spiritually speaking. We often overlook the concept of adoption as a biblical description for salvation. And often when we do think about spiritual adoption we look at it through cultural glasses that are clouded with misconceptions. The adoptive child shares the same reality as the biological one. Spiritually speaking, many of the doubts that plague Christians today concerning their salvation and/or worth before God stem from a misunderstanding of their own adoption.
This misunderstanding may be a reason God frequently confirms the believer’s status as his child. John states, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him" (1 John 3:1, NIV). Again John states, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands" (1 John 5:1-2). Paul states, "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children" (Rom 8:15-16).
I hope the truth of these words soaks into the very fiber of your being. I hope, that those of you who are in Christ, receive from the Spirit that abiding confidence. I pray that if you don’t have Christ, that the Spirit will open your eyes to the truth and draw you into the family. I also hope that thinking about our adoption into the family of God will shape your thinking about adoption in general. I hope you will grasp the reality of being God’s child and that it will help you see that while biology is important it is not ultimate. We have a family that is eternal. The plain teaching of Christ reminds us that not all those who are biologically related to us will be in heaven, but only those who, through obedient faith, trust the Lord. I believe one day we will lay our biology down in the dust. All that will remain is the family formed for and through Christ to the glory of the Father.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
A Real Family
This article was originally published here, on September 2, 2008 under the title, "Thinking About Adoption."
I am thinking about Pinnochio--the wooden puppet who wanted to be a "real" boy. My mind keeps returning to the phrase "a real boy," and wondering what makes "a real boy," a real boy? I'm not quite sure I know. Recently, someone referred to adopted child's birth parents as the child's "real" parents. This caused my mind to begin turning the phrase "real parents" over and over again. There are some people who believe that a wooden puppet stands a better chance of becoming a real boy, than a family that adopts has of becoming a real family.
When a person refers to biological parents as the "real" parents of a child who was adopted, it reveals a fundamental misunderstanding about the true meaning of adoption. Questions like, "Don't you want any children of your own?", "Have you met the "real" parents?," and "Do you know anything about the 'real' family?", imply that parents who adopt children will not have a "real" family or become "real" parents. What makes a "real" parent? Is it merely a biological connection that makes one a parent? Is it a set of skills one learns? Is it a disposition of nature or character? What makes a parent real? Can families that adopt children be a "real" family?
Anybody, such as a babysitter, can learn good child-rearing skills without actually becoming a parent. A person who loves animals may have a very nurturing nature, yet without children they are not parents. And many have produced biological offspring only to neglect or abandon them. Are those the actions of a "real" parent? If family was merely biological why would Jesus point to a relationship that is higher than biology (see Matt. 10:37 and Matt 12:48). I do not wish to oversimplify the issue, but these verses teach us biological relationships are not the only legitimate family relationships. Jesus' teaching make it clear that it is more important to be in God's family than to maintain biological connections. Jesus united Jew and Gentile into one family making them one people. Drawing from that principle, we can conclude that it is indeed possible for parents who adopt can enjoy the experience of being a "real" family. Although they are not biologically connected, the are bound together by love.
What makes a person a real parent? In a word--love, but not the kind of sentimental drivel people put in greeting cards. Rather, it is the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8. It is the kind of love that willingly stays up with a sick child all night long; that willingly prays to the Lord on behalf of its child; that would willingly give its last drop of blood to save its child; that would willing braves the fires of hell to rescue its child; and that would willingly endure all these things without requiring anything in return. As the old saying goes, "Anyone can have a baby--it takes love to be a parent."
I became a real father on June 25th, 2006 at 3:12 p.m. That afternoon, I watched a young woman give birth to my first daughter, Ellie Grace, while my wife stood by her side coaching and comforting her. I had met and talked with Ellie's birth mother, but her birth father was unknown. Yet, if you ask me if I know her real parents, and I will tell you I know them intimately, because we are her real parents. My second daughter, Sophia Hope, was born in Guatemala on July 3rd, 2007. Her birth father is unknown, and I have only seen a picture of her birth mother. Yet, if you ask me if I know her real parents, and I will tell you I know them intimately, because we are her real parents. I hold both of these young mothers in high esteem. Both knew that they would not be able to care for their daughters, so in love, they gave them up for adoption. It was a heroic act that placed the need of the child over the desire of the mother. Because of these young women, we have two daughters: Ellie Grace, who has gone on to be with our heavenly Father, and Sophia Hope, who is now home with her real parents. Although we are not biologically related to our children, our family is not any less real. And we plan to extend our real family by adopting more children in the future.
We have been blessed to have you all by our sides. I thank God for your love and your thoughtfulness. We know that we have not mourned alone, but have been lifted to God through your prayers and have been encouraged by your love. We also know that we do not rejoice alone, but that you rejoicing with us. May God bless you.
I am thinking about Pinnochio--the wooden puppet who wanted to be a "real" boy. My mind keeps returning to the phrase "a real boy," and wondering what makes "a real boy," a real boy? I'm not quite sure I know. Recently, someone referred to adopted child's birth parents as the child's "real" parents. This caused my mind to begin turning the phrase "real parents" over and over again. There are some people who believe that a wooden puppet stands a better chance of becoming a real boy, than a family that adopts has of becoming a real family.
When a person refers to biological parents as the "real" parents of a child who was adopted, it reveals a fundamental misunderstanding about the true meaning of adoption. Questions like, "Don't you want any children of your own?", "Have you met the "real" parents?," and "Do you know anything about the 'real' family?", imply that parents who adopt children will not have a "real" family or become "real" parents. What makes a "real" parent? Is it merely a biological connection that makes one a parent? Is it a set of skills one learns? Is it a disposition of nature or character? What makes a parent real? Can families that adopt children be a "real" family?
Anybody, such as a babysitter, can learn good child-rearing skills without actually becoming a parent. A person who loves animals may have a very nurturing nature, yet without children they are not parents. And many have produced biological offspring only to neglect or abandon them. Are those the actions of a "real" parent? If family was merely biological why would Jesus point to a relationship that is higher than biology (see Matt. 10:37 and Matt 12:48). I do not wish to oversimplify the issue, but these verses teach us biological relationships are not the only legitimate family relationships. Jesus' teaching make it clear that it is more important to be in God's family than to maintain biological connections. Jesus united Jew and Gentile into one family making them one people. Drawing from that principle, we can conclude that it is indeed possible for parents who adopt can enjoy the experience of being a "real" family. Although they are not biologically connected, the are bound together by love.
What makes a person a real parent? In a word--love, but not the kind of sentimental drivel people put in greeting cards. Rather, it is the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8. It is the kind of love that willingly stays up with a sick child all night long; that willingly prays to the Lord on behalf of its child; that would willingly give its last drop of blood to save its child; that would willing braves the fires of hell to rescue its child; and that would willingly endure all these things without requiring anything in return. As the old saying goes, "Anyone can have a baby--it takes love to be a parent."
I became a real father on June 25th, 2006 at 3:12 p.m. That afternoon, I watched a young woman give birth to my first daughter, Ellie Grace, while my wife stood by her side coaching and comforting her. I had met and talked with Ellie's birth mother, but her birth father was unknown. Yet, if you ask me if I know her real parents, and I will tell you I know them intimately, because we are her real parents. My second daughter, Sophia Hope, was born in Guatemala on July 3rd, 2007. Her birth father is unknown, and I have only seen a picture of her birth mother. Yet, if you ask me if I know her real parents, and I will tell you I know them intimately, because we are her real parents. I hold both of these young mothers in high esteem. Both knew that they would not be able to care for their daughters, so in love, they gave them up for adoption. It was a heroic act that placed the need of the child over the desire of the mother. Because of these young women, we have two daughters: Ellie Grace, who has gone on to be with our heavenly Father, and Sophia Hope, who is now home with her real parents. Although we are not biologically related to our children, our family is not any less real. And we plan to extend our real family by adopting more children in the future.
We have been blessed to have you all by our sides. I thank God for your love and your thoughtfulness. We know that we have not mourned alone, but have been lifted to God through your prayers and have been encouraged by your love. We also know that we do not rejoice alone, but that you rejoicing with us. May God bless you.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Adoption News
We have received some amazing news. The old saying says, "God is faithful--all the time." It is a true statement. Today we got the news the Sophia Hope is out of PGN (the Guatemalan agency that approves adoptions). What that means that it is all over but the waiting. They are saying it may take us 8 to 12 weeks to get her home. Psalm 27:14 states, "Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!" Thank you all for praying and continue to pray. Delia and I love you all. God bless.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Adoption Parallels
Article XII of the Baptist Confession of Faith 1689 (the 2nd London Confession) is a tremendous expression of the biblical doctrine of adoption. It states:
Paragraph 1: All those that are justified, God conferred, in and for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption (Eph 1:5; Gal 4:4-5), by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God (John 1:12; Rom 8:17), have his name put on them (2 Cor 6:18; Rev 3:12), receive the Spirit of adoption (Rom 8:15), have access to the throne of grace with boldness, are able to cry Abba, Father (Gal 4:6; Eph 2:18), are pitied (Ps 103:13), protected (Prov 14:26; 1 Pet 5:7), provided for (Heb 12:6) and chastened by him as by a Father (Isa 54:8-9), yet never cast off (Lam 3:31), but sealed to the day of Redemption (Eph 4:30), and inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation (Heb 1:14, 6:12).
Benjamin Keach, the seventeen century Baptist leader and pastor, stated it succinctly: "Adoption is an act of God’s free grace, by which we are received into the company of God’s children and have a right to all the privileges of his sons" (Baptist Catechism, Answer to Question 38).
Let’s look at some of the parallels between our adoption as God’s children and the process of adopting a child. We must remember that no analogy is a perfect point-for-point comparison.
Adoption, both spiritual and physical, begins with a decision. Adoptive parents, unlike biological parents, get to choose their children. An adoptive parent is often given the opportunity to see photos of a child or children and given the option: yes or no. Their decision brings a child that they are not biologically attached to into the realm of their love. Spiritual adoption rests on God’s choice. Although God is the Creator of humanity he is not the Father of humanity. Jesus gave us a divine paternity test: "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am now here. . . .You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire" (John 8:42-44). John, Jesus’ disciple, states, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brothers" (1 John 3:10). God chose to save us and to bring us into his family. Jesus states, "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16a). John states, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 1:9).
After the choice has been made, the process of wooing begins. Adoptive parents have a tremendous task before them. Even in the best circumstances the children that are adopted are removed from their original environment (say the womb of their birth mother where they have become acquainted with her heart beat and voice or from a foster home or orphanage, etc.), and thrust into a whole new world. The sites and sounds and sensations are all different, maybe even frightening. The adoptive parent must begin helping the child to develop attachments, the heavenly pattern is helpful. If we first love them (the biblical concept of love is not sentimental, but action oriented), that is if we nurture them, give them affection, and lovingly discipline them, they will come to love us. Spiritually speaking this is the process of drawing or calling. God, through the Holy Spirit, convicts us of our sin, convinces us of our need for righteousness and our coming judgment, and compels us to repent and believe. In that moment when we respond to the gospel it is as if God is calling to us "Come to me," and is waiting to embrace us.
Embracing us in his love, God conforms us into the image of his Son. Adoptive parents also conform their children into a desired image. Adoptive parents will often change the child’s name. This is more than a demonstration of authority over a child; it is a demonstration of the radical transformation that has taken place in a child’s life. It marks the passing of the old standard and being brought into a new one. Look at Jacob, after his encounter with God, he goes from being "deceiver" (Jacob means deceiver) to "one who struggles [with God and man]" (Israel means he struggles with God, see Gen 33:22-32). God does demonstrate his authority over Jacob, but he is also signaling that Jacob is not the same person anymore and the narrative of Jacob’s life bears this out (see Gen 25:19-37:11).
Suppose John and Jane Smith wants to adopt Song Lu from China. Many would suggest they help Song Lu maintain as much of her Chinese heritage as possible. However, Song Lu, is no longer Chinese, she is a Smith now with all that entails. Instead of celebrating Chinese New Year with firecrackers, the Smith’s celebrate New Years with creating a list of resolutions that will be broken in a couple of days. Instead of offering incense in a Buddhist shrine, the Smith’s are faithful Christians who take their daughter to Church. They may like the name Song Lu, or they may want to name her after some relative. Song Lu becomes Sarah Beth Smith. Whatever her heritage was in China, it can never be that again. A radical change has occurred in her life that can never be undone.
Radical change is exactly what happens to us in Christ. We who were once "excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promises, without hope and without God in the world. . . . have been brought near through the blood of Christ" (Eph 2:12-13). We are now "heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings, in order that we may also share in his glory" (Rom 8:17). This reality is why Paul states, "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone the new has come!" (2 Cor 5:17).
It is said that many adopted children struggle with their adoption. Many wonder if life would have been different (better) with their biological parents, or if there was something wrong with them (because they were given away), and the list goes on. Adoption and how it is handled affects the way children perceive their adoption. It is no different spiritually speaking. We often overlook the concept of adoption as a biblical description for salvation. And often when we do think about spiritual adoption we look at it through cultural glasses that are cloudy with misconceptions. The adoptive child shares the same reality as the biological one. Spiritually speaking, many of the doubts that plague Christians today concerning their salvation and/or worth before God stem from a misunderstanding of their own adoption.
This misunderstanding may be a reason God frequently confirms the believer’s status as his child. John states, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him" (1 John 3:1). Again John states, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who love the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands" (1 John 5:1-2). Paul states, "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children" (Rom 8:15-16).
I hope the truth of these words soak into the very fiber of your being. I hope, that those of you who are in Christ, receive from the Spirit that abiding confidence. I pray that if you don’t have Christ, that the Spirit will open your eyes to the truth and draw you into the family. I also hope that thinking about our adoption into the family of God will shape your thinking about adoption in general. I hope you will grasp the reality of being God’s child and that it will help you see that while biology is important it is not ultimate. We have a family that is eternal. The plain teaching of Christ reminds us that not all those who are biologically related to us will be in heaven, only those who through obedient faith trust the Lord. I believe one day we will lay our biology down in the dust. All that will remain is the family formed for and through Christ to the glory of the Father.
Paragraph 1: All those that are justified, God conferred, in and for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption (Eph 1:5; Gal 4:4-5), by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God (John 1:12; Rom 8:17), have his name put on them (2 Cor 6:18; Rev 3:12), receive the Spirit of adoption (Rom 8:15), have access to the throne of grace with boldness, are able to cry Abba, Father (Gal 4:6; Eph 2:18), are pitied (Ps 103:13), protected (Prov 14:26; 1 Pet 5:7), provided for (Heb 12:6) and chastened by him as by a Father (Isa 54:8-9), yet never cast off (Lam 3:31), but sealed to the day of Redemption (Eph 4:30), and inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation (Heb 1:14, 6:12).
Benjamin Keach, the seventeen century Baptist leader and pastor, stated it succinctly: "Adoption is an act of God’s free grace, by which we are received into the company of God’s children and have a right to all the privileges of his sons" (Baptist Catechism, Answer to Question 38).
Let’s look at some of the parallels between our adoption as God’s children and the process of adopting a child. We must remember that no analogy is a perfect point-for-point comparison.
Adoption, both spiritual and physical, begins with a decision. Adoptive parents, unlike biological parents, get to choose their children. An adoptive parent is often given the opportunity to see photos of a child or children and given the option: yes or no. Their decision brings a child that they are not biologically attached to into the realm of their love. Spiritual adoption rests on God’s choice. Although God is the Creator of humanity he is not the Father of humanity. Jesus gave us a divine paternity test: "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am now here. . . .You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire" (John 8:42-44). John, Jesus’ disciple, states, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brothers" (1 John 3:10). God chose to save us and to bring us into his family. Jesus states, "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16a). John states, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 1:9).
After the choice has been made, the process of wooing begins. Adoptive parents have a tremendous task before them. Even in the best circumstances the children that are adopted are removed from their original environment (say the womb of their birth mother where they have become acquainted with her heart beat and voice or from a foster home or orphanage, etc.), and thrust into a whole new world. The sites and sounds and sensations are all different, maybe even frightening. The adoptive parent must begin helping the child to develop attachments, the heavenly pattern is helpful. If we first love them (the biblical concept of love is not sentimental, but action oriented), that is if we nurture them, give them affection, and lovingly discipline them, they will come to love us. Spiritually speaking this is the process of drawing or calling. God, through the Holy Spirit, convicts us of our sin, convinces us of our need for righteousness and our coming judgment, and compels us to repent and believe. In that moment when we respond to the gospel it is as if God is calling to us "Come to me," and is waiting to embrace us.
Embracing us in his love, God conforms us into the image of his Son. Adoptive parents also conform their children into a desired image. Adoptive parents will often change the child’s name. This is more than a demonstration of authority over a child; it is a demonstration of the radical transformation that has taken place in a child’s life. It marks the passing of the old standard and being brought into a new one. Look at Jacob, after his encounter with God, he goes from being "deceiver" (Jacob means deceiver) to "one who struggles [with God and man]" (Israel means he struggles with God, see Gen 33:22-32). God does demonstrate his authority over Jacob, but he is also signaling that Jacob is not the same person anymore and the narrative of Jacob’s life bears this out (see Gen 25:19-37:11).
Suppose John and Jane Smith wants to adopt Song Lu from China. Many would suggest they help Song Lu maintain as much of her Chinese heritage as possible. However, Song Lu, is no longer Chinese, she is a Smith now with all that entails. Instead of celebrating Chinese New Year with firecrackers, the Smith’s celebrate New Years with creating a list of resolutions that will be broken in a couple of days. Instead of offering incense in a Buddhist shrine, the Smith’s are faithful Christians who take their daughter to Church. They may like the name Song Lu, or they may want to name her after some relative. Song Lu becomes Sarah Beth Smith. Whatever her heritage was in China, it can never be that again. A radical change has occurred in her life that can never be undone.
Radical change is exactly what happens to us in Christ. We who were once "excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promises, without hope and without God in the world. . . . have been brought near through the blood of Christ" (Eph 2:12-13). We are now "heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings, in order that we may also share in his glory" (Rom 8:17). This reality is why Paul states, "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone the new has come!" (2 Cor 5:17).
It is said that many adopted children struggle with their adoption. Many wonder if life would have been different (better) with their biological parents, or if there was something wrong with them (because they were given away), and the list goes on. Adoption and how it is handled affects the way children perceive their adoption. It is no different spiritually speaking. We often overlook the concept of adoption as a biblical description for salvation. And often when we do think about spiritual adoption we look at it through cultural glasses that are cloudy with misconceptions. The adoptive child shares the same reality as the biological one. Spiritually speaking, many of the doubts that plague Christians today concerning their salvation and/or worth before God stem from a misunderstanding of their own adoption.
This misunderstanding may be a reason God frequently confirms the believer’s status as his child. John states, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him" (1 John 3:1). Again John states, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who love the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands" (1 John 5:1-2). Paul states, "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children" (Rom 8:15-16).
I hope the truth of these words soak into the very fiber of your being. I hope, that those of you who are in Christ, receive from the Spirit that abiding confidence. I pray that if you don’t have Christ, that the Spirit will open your eyes to the truth and draw you into the family. I also hope that thinking about our adoption into the family of God will shape your thinking about adoption in general. I hope you will grasp the reality of being God’s child and that it will help you see that while biology is important it is not ultimate. We have a family that is eternal. The plain teaching of Christ reminds us that not all those who are biologically related to us will be in heaven, only those who through obedient faith trust the Lord. I believe one day we will lay our biology down in the dust. All that will remain is the family formed for and through Christ to the glory of the Father.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Sermon Preview
I am struggling with two themes for Sunday Morning. I haven't decided which one to preach. Right now it is between the necessity to rest (Sabbath was made for man, not man for Sabbath) or the Adoption of the saints. My mind has been on adoption all week (actually for years now), but I have also had a long week. For the last two days all I can think about is the need for rest.
Fortunately, both of these realities are used as analogies for the faith. We have been adopted into the family of God and one day we will enter into his rest, if we continue on in the faith. Both themes have the ability to enrich our understanding of God's love, both offer the potential to encourage.
Please pray that God would give me the wisdom to make the right choice and that he would help me to be prepared.
Sunday Night (6:00) will be business meeting.
Wednesday Night (6:00) we will have a special potluck meal together followed by a One Voice Prayer meeting at (7:00). We will be joining with our Baptist brothers and sisters around the state in praying for awakening and revival. I encourage you all to come and eat and stay to pray.
Soon we will begin looking at the book of Hebrews on Sunday mornings, so I urge you to begin prayerfully reading through Hebrews. In a couple of week we will begin an exciting study on Wednesday night that will hopefully help us give biblical answers to the questions: What is healthy church? What is a healthy church member? and How do I live a gospel centered life?. A list of books is available for the Wednesday night class so if you need one let me know.
My prayer is that God would reveal his love to you as you ponder your own adoption. Yes, you have been adopted by God, if you are in Christ. And that you would continually remember that a day of rest is coming for all those who have faithfully labored in the Lord.
Fortunately, both of these realities are used as analogies for the faith. We have been adopted into the family of God and one day we will enter into his rest, if we continue on in the faith. Both themes have the ability to enrich our understanding of God's love, both offer the potential to encourage.
Please pray that God would give me the wisdom to make the right choice and that he would help me to be prepared.
Sunday Night (6:00) will be business meeting.
Wednesday Night (6:00) we will have a special potluck meal together followed by a One Voice Prayer meeting at (7:00). We will be joining with our Baptist brothers and sisters around the state in praying for awakening and revival. I encourage you all to come and eat and stay to pray.
Soon we will begin looking at the book of Hebrews on Sunday mornings, so I urge you to begin prayerfully reading through Hebrews. In a couple of week we will begin an exciting study on Wednesday night that will hopefully help us give biblical answers to the questions: What is healthy church? What is a healthy church member? and How do I live a gospel centered life?. A list of books is available for the Wednesday night class so if you need one let me know.
My prayer is that God would reveal his love to you as you ponder your own adoption. Yes, you have been adopted by God, if you are in Christ. And that you would continually remember that a day of rest is coming for all those who have faithfully labored in the Lord.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Still Thinking About Adoption
Here are a few articles on adoption by Dr. Russell Moore. He is a tremendous theologian and writer. He and his wife have two sons that they adopted from Russia. I hope you enjoy these articles: http//www.henryinstitute.org/commentary_read.php?cid=236 http//www.henryinstitute.org/commentary_read.php?cid=420 http//www.henryinstitute.org/commentary_read.php?cid=468
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Thinking about Adoption
I am thinking about adoption. I am also thinking about Pinnochio--the wooden puppet who wanted to be a "real" boy. My mind keeps returning to the phrase "a real boy". I wonder what makes "a real boy"? I just don't know. These thoughts are the fruit of something of something somebody said the other day. They were speaking about an adopted child's birthparents and referred to them as the child's "real" parents.
We have all had a turn at misspeaking. Many well meaning people ask adoptive parents if they want any children "of their own." Or they may ask if the adoptive parents have met the "real" parents or if they know anything about the "real" family. These types of questions and statements reveal a fudamental misunderstanding of what adoption really means.
Some believe a wooden puppet stands a better chance of becoming a real boy than an adoptive family has of becoming a real family. So I ask: what makes a "real" parent? Is it merely a biological connection that makes one a parent? Is it a set of skills one learns? Is it a nature or a character? What makes a parent real?
If family was merely biological why would Jesus point to a relationship higher than biology (see Matt. 10:37 and Matt 12:48). Not to oversimplify, but these verses teach us that mere biology doesn't make a family. Jesus said it is more important to be in God's family than to maintain biological connections. Anybody can learn the skills a person needs to be a good parent, yet not be a parent (like a babysitter). A person can have a very nurturing nature, but not be a parent (a person who loves animals).
I would answer the question, "What makes a person a real parent?", with one word--love. Not the kind of sentimental drivel people put on greeting cards, but the kind of love described in 1 Cor. 13. The kind of love that stays by a sick child's bedside all night long; that stays on its knees in prayer to the Lord; that would give its last drop of blood to save its child; that would brave the flames of hell to rescue the erring child; that would endure without requiring a return. We have all heard the expression: anyone can have a baby--it takes love to make a parent.
On June 25th, 2006 at 3:12 in the afternoon. I watched a young woman give birth to my (adoptive) daughter, Ellie Grace, while my wife stood by her side coaching and comforting her. I had met and talked with Ellie's birth mother; her birth father was unknown. But, if you ask me do I know her real parents, I would have to say intimately.
On July 3rd, 2007 my (adoptive) daughter Sophia Hope was born in Gautemala. Her birth father is unknown, and I have never met her birth mother, although I have seen a picture of her. Ask me if I know her real parents, and I will tell you I know them intimately.
Currently I have two daughters. Ellie Grace, has gone on to her heavenly Father. Sophia Hope, will soon come to live with her earthly parents. And in the future we plan on adopting more children and adding them to our real family.
I want to thank all of you who have been by our side during this adoption process. I appreciate your love and your thoughtfulness. We have not morned alone, but have been lifted to God in your prayers and encouraged by your love. May God bless you.
We have all had a turn at misspeaking. Many well meaning people ask adoptive parents if they want any children "of their own." Or they may ask if the adoptive parents have met the "real" parents or if they know anything about the "real" family. These types of questions and statements reveal a fudamental misunderstanding of what adoption really means.
Some believe a wooden puppet stands a better chance of becoming a real boy than an adoptive family has of becoming a real family. So I ask: what makes a "real" parent? Is it merely a biological connection that makes one a parent? Is it a set of skills one learns? Is it a nature or a character? What makes a parent real?
If family was merely biological why would Jesus point to a relationship higher than biology (see Matt. 10:37 and Matt 12:48). Not to oversimplify, but these verses teach us that mere biology doesn't make a family. Jesus said it is more important to be in God's family than to maintain biological connections. Anybody can learn the skills a person needs to be a good parent, yet not be a parent (like a babysitter). A person can have a very nurturing nature, but not be a parent (a person who loves animals).
I would answer the question, "What makes a person a real parent?", with one word--love. Not the kind of sentimental drivel people put on greeting cards, but the kind of love described in 1 Cor. 13. The kind of love that stays by a sick child's bedside all night long; that stays on its knees in prayer to the Lord; that would give its last drop of blood to save its child; that would brave the flames of hell to rescue the erring child; that would endure without requiring a return. We have all heard the expression: anyone can have a baby--it takes love to make a parent.
On June 25th, 2006 at 3:12 in the afternoon. I watched a young woman give birth to my (adoptive) daughter, Ellie Grace, while my wife stood by her side coaching and comforting her. I had met and talked with Ellie's birth mother; her birth father was unknown. But, if you ask me do I know her real parents, I would have to say intimately.
On July 3rd, 2007 my (adoptive) daughter Sophia Hope was born in Gautemala. Her birth father is unknown, and I have never met her birth mother, although I have seen a picture of her. Ask me if I know her real parents, and I will tell you I know them intimately.
Currently I have two daughters. Ellie Grace, has gone on to her heavenly Father. Sophia Hope, will soon come to live with her earthly parents. And in the future we plan on adopting more children and adding them to our real family.
I want to thank all of you who have been by our side during this adoption process. I appreciate your love and your thoughtfulness. We have not morned alone, but have been lifted to God in your prayers and encouraged by your love. May God bless you.
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