Adoption

Love is an amazing thing. Its not a depletable resource - it actually multiplies! We have a new addition to our home - after a long process of more than two years we finally made the trip to Ethiopia this year and now our daughter is home and sleeping in her bed as I write this. It didn't take long to realize that I didn't have to divide my love and ration it out - love multiplied. We loved Amira before we even met her and we knew that we were prepared to overcome any obstacles, travel any distance, break though any barriers, prejudices, or fears. Our love for her was unconditional, it didn't matter where she came from, how she looked or what needs she had. She is our daughter and one of God's most beautiful creations.

Throughout this entire process I began to realize how strangely familiar this was, and that this kind of love did not originate within me. My human nature and my ego tend to want to be selfish, self-centered, stingy and greedy. But there was a time when I was adopted too. This same thing happened to me spiritually. God adopted me into his family and loved me so much that he overcame all obstacles, traveled any distance (look it up, it was pretty far), and broke through all barriers. His love for me is unconditional, it didn't matter how I looked, what I'd done or what needs I had.

I am so thankful that God calls us his own - to the point that he even calls us "co-heirs" with his only son Jesus Christ!

Someone once asked us how we could love a child that was not our own - Russell Moore said it best in an article he wrote describing his experience: "I was at first reluctant to adopt, because I assumed an adopted child would always be more distant than a child "of my own." I was wrong. And I should have known better. After all, there are no "adopted children" of God, as an ongoing category. Adoption tells us how we came into the family of God. And once we are here, no distinction is drawn between those at the dinner table."