I believe there are few more beautiful pictures of love in this world than that of adoption. Accepting someone born outside a particular biological family and placing them as a son or daughter within that family. We have some wonderful examples of adoption here within the Faith family.
I have a beautiful sister, she is 4 years younger than me. We met when she was 3 months old. I am told that when she was brought out to us I immediately spoke up and said “Yep, that’s her!” My mother has always said to her, “You may not have grown under my heart but within it.”
My sister is as much my sibling as my younger brother who was born to the same parents as me. Yes, my sister is adopted. We never shied away from that fact, we never hid it from her, but it was never a problem, it was simply a fact. My parents loved and continue to love her just as much as they did and do my brother and I. My brother and I love our sister as much as we love one another. “But she’s not ‘really’ your sister,” you may say. I beg to differ! I recognized her as my little sister from the moment I met her and have never considered her anything else. We are family.
Our loving Heavenly Father is very well acquainted with adoption. In last Sunday’s message we saw God’s amazing plan of adoption. In Ephesians 1:4-6 we see that God has adopted us as children. Adoption means ‘to place as a son’. That adoption is through, or by, Jesus Christ and Him alone. It is in Jesus because of His redeeming work on Calvary. You see, God accepts us because we believe in His Son Jesus. Jesus has provided, through His blood, the forgiveness of sins thus making us acceptable and because of Him we have the riches of His grace that abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
God’s desire is to have many sons and daughters who will love and serve Him both now and forevermore. Therefore, when a person wants to live for Jesus so much that he entrusts all that he is and has to Christ, God adopts that person, making him a brother or sister to Jesus Christ (Romans 8:15-17). God’s purpose for adoption is that we, His children, will live forever to the praise and glory of His grace. We are sons and daughters in the family of God! What an act of love, what amazing grace! “Oh what a Savior, Oh Hallelujah!”
So then the question we must ask ourselves is this, are we living as children of the Most High God? Is there a family resemblance? Do we reflect His image in our lives? What are we doing to let others know of this blessed adoption that God offers freely to all?
Let us decide to live lives full of joy, trusting God to lead us and guide us through this life abounding in the riches of His grace here and now as we are indwelled with and dwell within the Holy Spirit of God, ambassadors of His peace, provision and power!
God is good!
