As you may or may not know, Shay and I are in the process of adopting. I have an earlier post that talks about the patience God is teaching me during this process. Lately, I've been thinking about the topic in more detail, and I wanted to share a couple of things with you. These thoughts are based on a sermon I am working on that looks at adoption.
Probably the most clear example of a literal adoption is found in Genesis 48. Jacob adopts the two sons of Joseph (which make them his grandsons), in order to pass on the blessing of God. One of the things that struck me this morning as I was re-reading this passage is how location is insignificant compared to God working out His will. Joseph was sold into slavery, sent to Egypt, and eventually given sons while living in Egypt. God orchestrated events to bring Jacob into Egypt to see his grandsons and to pass on God's blessing to them, even though Ephraim and Manasseh were in the "pagan" land of Egypt.
When it comes to adoption, God wants to use families that he has blessed to extend that blessing to persons and places that would not experience His blessing otherwise. In other words, adoption is a tool God can use to break into a family and bring a blessing that is unexpected and undeserved. He can break a cycle of violence within a family by placing the child in a family that loves them. He can give those who have no name a family name and identity. He can take the Gospel to a child who would may have never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel, except that the child is placed in a Christian family so that they might hear.
Adoption is more than just giving a child a loving home. It is more than giving a family an opportunity to love and invest in raising a child. Adoption is a means by which God can transform a person's life and forever change their trajectory from lostness to salvation. God may be calling you and your family to adopt so that He can forever change a person's life.
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