Family Matters

As many as received Him, to them He gave the right, the authority, to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name.

– John 1:12

Baseball legend Babe Ruth. Apple mastermind Steve Jobs. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Country music superstars Faith Hill and Shania Twain. 

Other than being famous for excelling at their professions, what do they have in common? They were all adopted. 

According to the Adoption Network, about 115,000 children are adopted each year in the United States, and about 5 million Americans overall are adopted. And as anyone who has been through the process will tell you, adoption can be stressful, tedious, and very expensive. What’s more, arrangements with birth parents can fall through at the last minute, and agency fees, court costs, and other legal expenses can easily exceed tens of thousands of dollars. But for the right adoptive parents whose hearts are set on a special child, no price is too high.

Scripture reveals that God is quite familiar with the adoption process, its struggles, and legalities. That’s because in a very real sense, he’s the adoptive parent of every Christ-follower. When we first put our faith in his Son — Jesus Christ — as our Savior, God acted legally on our behalf and paid all the related costs. The result? Our adoption into God’s royal family.

But just as adopted children don’t pick their new parents, the apostle John’s gospel reminds us that the same is true for our heavenly adoption: 

“You did not choose me; I chose you,” Jesus told his disciples. “And I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit, fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name.”

Before God became our Heavenly Father, we were spiritually dead. And since we broke God’s laws, our sinfulness had made us his enemies ... and him the Judge. What’s so remarkable is that this same Judge has declared us “not guilty” because of his willingness to pay the high price of our adoption through Jesus’ death on the cross. And for us — through our adoption — came a change of family, name, and home. As God’s adopted children, it also meant an array of new privileges and life-changing responsibilities.

The implications are remarkable. God — as our loving Father — is now approachable through prayer. He’s no longer some cold, impersonal Being who’s only accessible through a priest. In fact, Jesus outraged the strict religious authorities of the day by referring to God as “Abba,” which means daddy in the Aramaic language. And he happens to be a Daddy who watches out for his kids!

Indeed, the Creator of our vast universe cares for us so much and knows us so intimately that he’s literally counted the hairs on our head! He’s also willing to pay any price to adopt us into his family. And for every Christ-follower, that’s exactly what he did to forever convey his name, protection, inheritance, and love. Because to Him, family matters.