The couple had tried for years to have children—doctors, fertility drugs, doctors, surgeries, doctors…Eight years later, there was still no success. They decided to go the way so many in their situation go: adoption. They found a reputable agency and began the long process—paperwork, interviews, paperwork, lawyers, paperwork—and now they were waiting.
On August 19, 1982, the wife went to bed and was awakened by a dream. She dreamed she was pregnant and gave birth to a little girl. The next day the phone rang. A little girl had been born that day and was awaiting a forever home.
A few years later, they adopted a son. Now, 44 years later, they have a daughter, son, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, three grandsons and three granddaughters. A Family!
Adoption is an incredible gift to both the child and the parents. It is the hope of being part of a family—the opportunity to belong to a group of people who love you unconditionally. Adoption is also a legal change of family status. I once was not a part of this family. I was an outsider. But by the action of a court, I have been declared a part of this family, and now I carry full rights as a family member.
Throughout the New Testament, adoption is used to help us understand what happens at conversion. The moment we place our faith in Christ, confess and repent of our sin, Paul describes the transformation as an adoption to sonship.
Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son…to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.”
Think about what that means.
We receive a new identity. Galatians 3:26 says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” In Christ, the old has gone and the new has come. We are no longer defined by our sinfulness. We are a new creation—sinners who have been forgiven, people who have been set apart for God.
We receive a new standing. We were once alienated from God, but now we are accepted and favored. We were enemies; Jesus calls us friends. Justification is more than simply being declared innocent. In God’s court, our standing immediately changes from alienation and separation to acceptance and favor.
We receive a new inheritance. Galatians 4:7 says, “So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” We are not simply given a second chance to try harder. We have been given a new life and a new inheritance. We share in the life of Christ and receive the spiritual riches of His grace and mercy.
We receive a new assurance. God sent His Spirit into our hearts, “the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’” When an adoption is finalized, parents receive a certificate proving that there has been a legal change in family status. God gives us something even greater—the Holy Spirit living within us as proof that we belong to Him.
The Spirit doesn’t simply tell us right from wrong. He can lead us away from good to better, and from better to best.
We were in bondage, slaves to our own sinfulness. But Christ has come. We have been redeemed, adopted, given a new identity, a new standing, a new inheritance and a new assurance.
We were made for so much more than simply surviving. We were made to thrive.
If you have never placed your faith in Christ, you don’t have to simply hope things work out. You can become part of God’s family. Come to Him as David did: confess your sin, ask Him for forgiveness, and ask Him to give you a new heart and a new life.
And who knows, you might get a really cool uncle out of the deal as well!
Ted Harris
Associate Pastor