Most of you know I work during the week for a company that facilitates international adoptions. I have no personal experience or connections with this issue, but many in our congregation do. This week while reading Romans chapter eight, I noticed in the Bible version I was reading Paul says, "We do not have a spirit of fear but a spirit of adoption in which we cry Abba father." I had not heard that particular translation before, or if I had, I did not notice the word adoption. I think my NIV translates it as "a spirit of sonship." To me the term adoption is more inclusive and maybe a more accurate reflection of what He has done for us. Certainly when Paul penned those words, he was not thinking about the legal paperwork, the home studies, the dossiers that are compiled, etc.; yet, that imagery encapsulates well what has happened to us as children of God.
UNICEF estimates 140 million orphans in the world right now. This includes countries who consider children orphans if they have lost their father . . . the breadwinner of the family. In America we might not call them orphans, but we would certainly call them "the fatherless." If these numbers are accurate, then it is no exaggeration to say the world faces a crisis: a population of children equal to about half the population of the United States currently has no fathers!
In 1 John 3 it says, "See what love the Father has given us, that we might be called children of God!" It is striking to remember we too should be among the fatherless . . . yet God has bestowed upon us a "spirit of adoption." He took us in, not because we deserved it, but because he found us in need of a father and adopted us, chose us to be his children. I can't imagine a child growing up and boasting, "When my parents came to that orphanage they knew I was the best kid; I impressed them with my behavior and overall goodness; I really did it!" But rather the child would probably say, "Wow, my parents could have chosen any child, yet they chose me! What a miracle, what an amazing turn of events that my father (and mother) 'selected' me!"
Praise God for the spirit of adoption—in his eternal wisdom and goodness he chooses us and we cry, "Abba Father!"
UNICEF estimates 140 million orphans in the world right now. This includes countries who consider children orphans if they have lost their father . . . the breadwinner of the family. In America we might not call them orphans, but we would certainly call them "the fatherless." If these numbers are accurate, then it is no exaggeration to say the world faces a crisis: a population of children equal to about half the population of the United States currently has no fathers!
In 1 John 3 it says, "See what love the Father has given us, that we might be called children of God!" It is striking to remember we too should be among the fatherless . . . yet God has bestowed upon us a "spirit of adoption." He took us in, not because we deserved it, but because he found us in need of a father and adopted us, chose us to be his children. I can't imagine a child growing up and boasting, "When my parents came to that orphanage they knew I was the best kid; I impressed them with my behavior and overall goodness; I really did it!" But rather the child would probably say, "Wow, my parents could have chosen any child, yet they chose me! What a miracle, what an amazing turn of events that my father (and mother) 'selected' me!"
Praise God for the spirit of adoption—in his eternal wisdom and goodness he chooses us and we cry, "Abba Father!"
Mark
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