"...In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved."
Ephesians 1:5-6
We have been talking much about the COST
of adoption lately.
Anyone who is following my posts
sees how much we have raised
financially, and how much more we have to go.
But we can't lose sight of WHY we are adopting.
When we introduced the concept on our blog,
I think I did a decent job of explaining why we chose to adopt.
(that was posted here)
But my husband did an even better job on Sunday.
He preached the Sunday message
and even though he had an outline planned,
he changed his mind and spoke on adoption.
He did NOT speak about Christians adopting
desperate children.
He spoke of us desperate sinners
needing a Father.
Our Father not only justified us
(declared us righteous),
but He went a step further and called us
His child by adopting us.
I STRONGLY encourage you to listen to his message
Even though he only briefly touched on the fact
that we are adopting our son from Congo,
he gave a very detailed explanation
of WHY we are.
This wasn't a personal message about our family at all.
He simply gave the truth of our adoption
as sons and daughters of the King
from Ephesians 1:1-6.
It is a precious, precious doctrine that I feel
gets overlooked too often.
God the Father had a Son already.
He had an Heir.
But He chose to adopt us all into the same
eternal, spiritual family.
This doesn't make practical sense.
We did NOTHING to merit our adoption.
We were helpless without the ability to help ourselves
out of our own pit of sin.
Now comes the picture of earthly adoption.
Are not these children the same?
They are helpless.
They did not choose to be orphans,
nor do they choose to have parents adopt them.
But because God has shown us such IRRATIONAL grace,
we are led, in turn, to show as much
grace as possible to another helpless person.
In this case, we are able to mirror the Gospel
in a very special way.
I really cannot wait to be able to
communicate this to Tobias!
WHY did we rescue you from a fatherless life?
Because our Father rescued US from a Fatherless, hopeless life.
We were lost in our own sin
and He pulled us out of it and called us His own.
Now, we call you OUR OWN.
We don't look alike.
We don't sound alike.
But we get the privilege of showing God's love
to a precious child.
Read Ephesians 1:1-6
And as you understand the GRACE that was shown to us,
pray about showing it to another child.
Not all are called to adopt,
but ALL of God's children
are called to care for the orphan.
So many of you have already cared for our Tobias
by praying for him and then
going further to help us bring him home
with your financial gifts.
If this is the first time you've been involved
in an adoption,
please don't stop thinking
of these children when Tobi comes home.
He is one of MILLIONS.
And unfortunately, MOST are not cared
for as well as he is.
This is getting lengthy,
but I cannot help but think of those orphans in Russia.
(Read about the adoption status here.)
Sadly, much of Russia has earned somewhat
of a reputation for NOT caring
well for the orphaned.
Specifically those with special needs of any kind.
I ache for those kids and pray this ends.
Honestly, if American parents don't rescue
these kids, who will???
So again,
if we have been the ones to open
your eyes to the reality of the orphaned,
please do not stop supporting.
There are many...
FAR TOO MANY
that need parents.
And so do we.
He has chosen to be our Father.
