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 computer 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. 

About 135,000 children are adopted in the United States each year. Of non-stepparent adoptions, about 59% are from the child welfare (or foster) system, 26% are from other countries, and 15% are voluntarily relinquished American babies. And as anyone who has been through the process can tell you, adoption can be stressful, tedious and very expensive. Arrangements with birth parents can fall through at the last minute. And related agency fees, court costs and attorney fees 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 the Creator's royal family.

But just as adopted children don’t pick their new parents, John’s Gospel reminds us that the same holds 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 from breaking God’s laws, our sinfulness had made us his enemies -- and he's the Judge. What’s so remarkable is that this same Judge has declared us “not guilty” because of his willingness to pay the 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 as well as 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 accessible only through a priest. In fact, Jesus outraged the strict religious authorities of the day by referring to God as “Abba” or “Daddy.” And he’s 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.