Adoption

The Bible says in John 1 that all who received Jesus, “to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (NIV) Adoption is an important concept in Christianity. Jesus is the one and only son of God, but through our belief in him, we become adopted into God’s family.

The Bible also says in James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Those in the broadcast area for Channel 11 in Toledo, OH (SE Michigan and NW Ohio), will remember a segment called “Home for Keeps.” Chrys Peterson would meet with kids in foster care in Lucas County and give a brief introduction to their lives. One evening, my husband and I saw a broadcast about two sisters who were in separate foster homes, needing to be adopted together. At the end of the segment, we looked at each other and in a moment that seemed an inspiration from God, we said, “That’s what we can do!”

We had been married eight years, and although we wanted children, we didn’t have any. We realized that through adoption we could become parents, and we could offer a home to kids who needed one.

Indeed, two years later, it seemed a God-send when we got a call from a social worker about two sisters, currently living in separate foster homes, who needed to be adopted together. We recently celebrated the eighth anniversary of our legal adoption of those siblings. Of course, those who have adopted or worked with foster kids can tell you, it isn’t easy. I hope in this section of the blog, however, to encourage those who want to adopt and who have adopted. Preserve.

My wisdom is hard-won, it comes from failing and making mistakes, like most personal testimonies. The adoption has taught me more about God and about myself than any other experience I’ve ever had.

 

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1, NIV)

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12, NIV)

 

Originally posted July 20, 2014, http://christineareed.com/?p=152