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My Unorthodox Family (Adoption & Spiritual Adoption)
Six weeks after my kids moved into my house, myself, my wife, and our four kids were cleaning our garage. It’s funny because when it was just my wife and I, I think in nine years we only needed to clean the garage… mmmmmmm… maybe twice. But since we have kids now, we seem to clean that place every other week.
Kids be dirty man.
I don’t know how they do it, either. One moment, everything is clean and in place and then, BAM – everything is lost, broken, covered in food and “no body did it and it’s not my fault”
Kids have some crazy voodoo magic power, I’m telling you.
One of the first times we were cleaning the garage as a family, we found a bunch of old granola bar wrappers, empty potato chip bags and a few empty soda cans. As we were tossing the trash, my wife looked at our oldest son and asked, “Are these yours? Did you do this?”
Pretty normal question, because our youngest kids wouldn’t drink water without permission at that time. Now, they can care less. They think they are in charge most days. I was standing right next to her and no bells or whistles went off with her question. But, our son lost it. In one second, he exploded… “What are you trying to say? You think I stole from you? You think I took this from you?”
It was a little crazy. I thought he was totally over reacting until I listened to what he was saying. He thought we were accusing him of stealing. While my wife was just asking if he had eaten the food.
As tempers started to rise, I realized they were fighting the wrong fight. I quickly stepped in and explained, “Hey, hey, hey, calm down. No one is blaming you of stealing. Ty, you can’t take it you can’t steel from us because it’s yours. Everything in this house is yours.”
My adoption experience has completely changed my understanding of God. I have heard that God adopted us into his family. I have read that God has welcomed us into his kingdom and that he gives us access to everything. This relationship is nothing that we can earn or lose or steel – it’s given to us freely.
Through adoption the following verses have taken new power and new life.
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. (Galatians 3:26-4:7)
You are never alone, never unloved and never too far from your Father’s reach. You are a loved son of the King – never doubt that.