Adoption is not an easy or cheap process. When my wife and I adopted our two daughters, we had to jump through all sorts of hoops and pay all sorts of costs just to be able to adopt. We had to have a social worker come out to our home and do a home study. She toured the house and made recommendations for us that we had to follow so that our home would be deemed acceptable. We had to undergo psychological, emotional, and family evaluations from that same social worker to check for red flags. We had to undergo criminal background checks complete with finger printing and the like. We had to join a support group and drive to College Station monthly to talk about the ins and outs of adoption. Then there was the adoption fees that had to be paid. Afterwards, there were the home visits after we had adopted the kids ensuring that they were healthy and taken care of. Finally, we had to hire a lawyer and appear before the judge. Fortunately, everything lined up. All the i’s were dotted. All the t’s were crossed. We were deemed fit guardians, and so we became the legal parents of our girls.
It was a long, drawn out and costly process, but it is one that I would gladly go through again in a heart beat because I love my girls. They were worth every hour of work that we put into the process; every mile driven to go to support group; every dollar spent on fees and attorneys. I have no regrets at all–even as they are entering into their teenage years. Oh, I may have joked that I’d turn them in for a refund if they got too out of line, but that’s not going to happen. They are my children. Period. And they know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Dawna and I love them dearly. We do not treat them any differently than we treat Kevin, who is genetically our child. We would lay down our lives for our girls just as we would lay down our lives for our son. Our girls will receive the same inheritance that Kevin does. When we talk about our children, we don’t say, “These are our adopted children and this is our child.” No. We say, “These are our children.” Because they are!
Talking about the adoption process is near and dear to my heart, and when I read St. Paul’s words from the fourth chapter of the book of Galatians, something is tweaked very deep inside of me. And I am sure that it is because I know exactly what it is like to adopt children. And the parallels jump out at me all throughout this short text as we now consider what it was for God to adopt us as His children.
Paul begins with these words, “4But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.” When I hear these words, I think about the hoops that Jesus had to jump through to pay for our adoption. You see, our adoption was not cheap! Anyone who says grace is free needs to make a qualifying statement. Grace is free for us, but it cost God deeply. The Son of God left his throne from on high. He took on the limitations of human flesh to live and dwell among us. He became the God who hungered; who was tempted; who thirsted; who slept on the ground; who worked with his hands; who endured the same things that we endure. This was very unbecoming for any God of the ancient world! Ah, but He didn’t just become like us–he succeeded where we failed. For he was born under the law; he was born under God’s rules and commands. And whereas we fail to follow them; we fail to complete them; we break them on a daily basis; Jesus fulfilled them. Jesus worshiped only His Father; Jesus remembered the Sabbath; Jesus honored his father and mother; Jesus did not kill; He did not steal; he did not covet. Jesus did what we could not do. He became spotless and blameless before God. He became righteous and holy. He could actually stand before the Father and say, “I’ve done what you asked. I’ve fulfilled your word.”
And here is where it really, really became costly for God to adopt us. For in order for us to become children of God, we needed to be as blameless as Jesus. We needed to have followed God’s commands as well as Jesus did. We needed to have loved God above all things; kept the Sabbath; honored our fathers and mothers; not murdered; not stole; not coveted. But we had failed. Sin had stained us. We were ensnared and held hostage by its power. But Jesus redeemed us. The word here in Greek for redeemed means to pay the purchase for a slave’s freedom. Jesus paid for our release. He paid for our freedom, as Luther says in the Small Catechism, “not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, in order that [we] may be [wholly] His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.” Jesus gave up his holiness; his righteousness and became stained with our sin. The spotless lamb of God became dirty and filthy with all we had failed to do, and then he gave his righteousness to us. He gave his cleanness to us so that we could become children of God. Oh, this did not cost us a single thing, but it cost Jesus everything. See what love Jesus has for you! See what compassion Jesus has for you! See the lengths that Jesus has gone to redeem you! It cost him his very life! But he paid it; willingly, with no coercion. He loved you and wanted you to be his brother. To be his sister. He considered you family.
And now that is exactly what you are. You are sons; you are daughters of the Most High King. You are children of God. As Paul continues, “6And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ 7So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.” Now hear what God does for you to help you know that you are indeed His child. He sends to you the Holy Spirit. This is the Spirit of truth who comes deep into your hearts to mold you and make you into the image and likeness of Jesus. He comes into you to help you know deep down within the depths of your soul that you are loved and cherished by God. He comes deep within you to help you look heavenward and cry out, “Daddy!” just as Jesus looked heavenward and uttered the exact same word. When you are in doubt; when you wonder if indeed you are loved; when you wonder if God really and truly loves and cares for you; shut out the distractions. Still your mind. Quiet the inner thoughts and turmoil. And let the Spirit warm your heart. Let the Spirit penetrate your mind. Let the Spirit move on you and through you, and you will sense deep within that you have been adopted. You have been called. You have been claimed. You have been bought with a great price. You have a Daddy in heaven who loves you beyond measure.
And you will receive the heavenly inheritance. You will receive the same thing that your brother Jesus received. You will receive all the love and joy and peace that the Father can give. You will receive the assurance that no matter what happens in this life–whether it be good or bad; suffering or illness; or even death; God’s promises will come true for you. You will have joy. You will have peace. You will have patience. You will have eternal life. This is what it means to be an heir of God. This is what it means to have been adopted as His child. This is what Jesus came to earth to accomplish. This is why he arrived in the manger; so that you may be his brother; his sister. God has adopted you and paid a great price for you. What a tremendous gift. Merry Christmas. Amen.
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