Adoption

Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter one:

“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 to be adopted as His sons 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.”

Adoption is on my mind recently.  A colleague of mine and his wife are in the process of adoption.  A member of my congregation and friend recently shared a powerful story of his own life as an adopted son.  My congregation is creating a ministry ( “Embrace”) to encourage support for foster children and to promote adoption.  Adoption is on my mind.

I was raised by my biological parents.  They had little choice in the matter of what their son looked like, his Intelligence Quotient, his personality strengths and weaknesses, etc.  By God’s great grace they loved me and did a wonderful job raising a difficult, sometimes strong willed, son.

It seems to me adoptive parents have options.  They can make choices not offered to biological parents.  Not being adopted, I wonder if that deepens and enriches the bond between parent and child.  The adoptive child knows he or she was chosen.  There was an option to say, “no thanks”.  There were other choices that could have been made.  You were not only loved.  You were chosen.  You were picked out!!

Paul reminds us the heavenly Father chose us to be His adopted children.  He knew what a rebellious, angry, hurtful, selfish, and uncaring son I was capable of being.  He knew beforehand I would live up to that potential far too many times.  He knew all my bad habits and yet, despite knowing all this, He chose to adopt me….and you.  Talk about feeling special…Talk about a love that goes beyond comprehension…God’s love is beyond awesome!

He chose us to be “holy” and “blameless”.  Holy means to be different, special, unique.  He chose us to be different from those not part of the family.  He chose to be different from the world and its values.  He chose us to know Himself and to become more and more like Himself. 

He chose us to be blameless.  Through the death of His “begotten” Son Jesus Christ I am washed clean.  I am forgiven in His blood.  Washed clean and forgiven I am now “blameless” in His sight.  Did I do “it”?  Yes, I did.  But it is washed away and I am blameless in His sight.  He cannot see me for what I am at times or what I do at times.  He sees a “clean” son, blameless and loved.

Wow!  Adoption is a powerful reality.  It is an act of love.  It reaches out to children in need.  God is our example.  Some of us will be called to follow His example.  OSL and Embrace stand ready to help you.  God bless all the adopted children.

When Does Life Begin?

Rick Warren recently interviewed both John McCain and Barak Obama.  Both men seemed well prepared and articulate.  In the interview Rick asked both a question about abortion.  When does a person warrant human rights?  John McCain’s answer of “from conception” was firm and decisive.  Barak Obama took a more philosophical approach and claimed a higher authority, a “higher pay grade”, was better qualified to make such a determination.  I will let you decide which candidate gave a better answer.  I have my opinion but want to turn your thoughts in a different direction.

When does a person warrant human rights?  If I might slant the question in a different direction, let me ask when life begins.   Let me turn your thoughts to John 17:3 and suggest true life for humanity begins the moment we come to know God through His Son Jesus Christ.  We might call that moment conversion.  Prior to that moment I am said to be lost in my sin, condemned to death and eternal separation from God.  That is certainly not life as I want to define it, know it, or desire it. 

Jesus saw and understood life to be more than biological existence.  He came to bring us life in all its fullness (John 10:10).  He talked about the joy of salvation, not merely the reality of existence.  He brought hope and light into a world of despair and darkness.  He not only raised the physically dead such as Lazarus, but made “new creatures” (2 Cor. 5:17) out of a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John 4) and a thief on the cross (Luke 23:43).  He gave them life beyond biology, beyond human understanding, but not beyond human faith and hope.

When does life begin?  At conception?  At birth?  I will stake my claim that life begins when I am born (John 3) again into the Kingdom of God, a child of God.  Anything else, anything outside this is not life as God understands it or as I desire it.