Adoption in Christ!

A BLESSING

Adoption is one of the most beautiful gifts God has given to us. We are now His children and He is our perfect Father. It’s truths like these that we can nod our heads to in agreement while neglecting the weightiness of it. Being adopted into the family of Christ is not a light matter. It gives us privileges that we would never have apart from the blood of Jesus.

I love the fact that many people adopt children from around the world. Children that were once orphans are chosen by parents that will raise them as their own. I have experienced this and it has given me more personal insight on what it means to be adopted in Christ. I see parallels that I don't think I would see if I did not experience being adopted myself.

EXPERIENCE

My story is different than many others, though there is no one 'cookie cutter' adoption story. I happened to be older in age when my family took me in. I had well-established patterns of thinking. One of the major thoughts was that ‘I could not be loved.’

It was amazing to me that this family would want me. I did not truly understand what it was like to be in a family. My transition was very difficult! I would keep myself at a distance because I thought natural born children were more important than an adopted one. It took months before I realized I really was ‘one of them.’ 

They actually wanted me to be a part of the family as if I had been born into it. I gained the protection of a father, a nurturing mother, and siblings that love me and care for my well-being. I entered into a family that embraced me and will be with me through the hard times, as well as the good. There is no dumping me off to the side when things get hard. This is such a small glimpse of the blessings we have in being a part of God's family. 

FATHER

When we are born again, we are born into the family of God. We are no longer under the rule of the enemy. We are safe in God’s kingdom. We have Him protecting and caring for us. No one can snatch us out of His hands. There is no need for fear because He is almighty. No one can stand against our Father. We can rest safely knowing that He watches over us and knows our every thought. He sings over us. Our Father is good!

There are many of us who have not seen godly fatherhood practiced well. Consequently, picturing God in this way may seem extremely difficult. However, as we walk with Him, and as we read more of Scripture, and as He reveals His fatherly love, we will become more and more convinced. We will find how restful it is to be a child of God because He is in control. He provides all that we need. There is no reason for stressful Christians. 

We feel stressed, because of unbelief. The enemy will feed us lies until we are full and satisfied in our heavy doubt. Then, we may feel the need to take things into our own hands...only to find ourselves running back to our God. He is the only One who can provide all of our needs. We have a gentle, patient, loving, and kind Father. Also, we have an almighty, sufficient King, and Ruler. There is no lack in Him!

BODY OF CHRIST

God has also given us the Body of Christ. There are no orphans in the kingdom of God. We have mother figures and father figures in this family. We have people who have been walking with the Lord for years, to look up to. We also have people that are new to the faith, that we can encourage.

It is amazing that the family of God is not isolated to our little church! The family of God is a collection of all believers from all countries. It is made up of all tongues and tribes. We all may look different. We may have different cultural practices. However, we are all united together in Christ. We are all one because of the blood that Christ has shed. 

NEVER ALONE

The body of Christ assures us that we will never be alone. Even if we were taken captive by someone, the prayers of our sisters and brothers would be with us. God has made it so, that none of his children should be alone.

We celebrate the baptism of new believers together. We honor the Lord's supper together. We pray and bring each other before the throne of grace. Together, we sing and praise God. Together, we have a home waiting for us. The believer should never feel isolated. We have a sweet fellowship together in Christ. How often do we neglect this gift of being adopted into God's family? We should thank God more often for it!

INHERITANCE 

Because of God’s grace and the blood of Jesus, we are also co-heirs with Christ! We have an inheritance that no one can take from us. It can’t rust. It can’t be stolen. We have everlasting life. We have heaven to look forward to!

Our inheritance includes no tears, no fainting hearts, no heartbreak, no sorrow, no weakness, no illness, no family issues, no money issues, nothing of the result of sin will be included in our inheritance. It is protected by Jesus, where there are heavenly beings singing holy holy holy. 

FUTURE HOPE

Can you imagine all of the believers praising God in heaven? We get to be with Jesus forever! Sin will be no more, and all of our enemies will no longer have access to us. I think we get so caught up in this world because it is demanding. We have schedules, we have goals, we have kids, we have jobs, we have get-togethers, we have so much that is calling for attention here. This makes it easy to forget that this is not our home. 

Our inheritance has for us another place of eternal gladness in the Lord. Whenever the Lord reminds me again that my true home is yet for me to enter, I rejoice. We have a hope of future glory. We have an inheritance that is rich and is worthy of praise and thankfulness. I believe we should think more about what the blood of Jesus did for us. The cross didn't just take away things from us, like God's wrath. It also gave us more than what we lost in Adam.

REMEMBER 

We forget so easily what the Lord has done for us. We can pray and pray and pray and pray, and then God will answer our prayers. A week later when a struggle comes, we forget that God answers prayers. We forget that God hears. We forget the miracles that we have seen Him perform in Scripture, and also in our own lives. I think we would be happier Christians if we realized what it means to be adopted by the Creator of the universe. 

We would be glad about having the protection and care of a perfect Father. We would rejoice in the fellowship with the body of Christ. We would find happiness in knowing that we are not alone. We would not be hopeless when things on this earth go wrong. When we have trials we will still have a hope. Our hope will be in the fact that this is not our home.

We can walk this earth doing the tasks that we have to do to live, while still acknowledging the hope of our inheritance in heaven. All that it means to be adopted into God's family, belong to us! It is up to us to remember and to partake in it here and now.

Blessings