For the Least of These

"In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, god sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." Galatians 4:3-7

I remember one intense moment from my childhood. Like most children, I had some odd behaviors when I came to the area of sleeping. My mom tells me that I would lay backwards with my feet to the wall and just kick the wall until I fell asleep; weird, I know, but this story involves another odd behavior. Sometimes, I would lay on the floor so that I could talk to my older brother across the hall with my parents thinking I was asleep. While most of you may find this cute, and I certainly agree, this one particular night ended badly. I was laying on the floor, and I fell asleep this way. Well, I also had another odd behavior of rolling around in my sleep. Moments (or maybe hours) later, I found myself stuck under my bed. Now many of you may be laughing now (as I am also), but you must remember that I was just a young boy of maybe 5 years and 50 lbs. As I woke up and tried to pry myself out, I immediately realized that there was no way out; I was going to die under my bed! So I started screaming for my mom and dad. I screamed for what seemed to be hours. Just as I thought I was going to give up my screaming to save my oxygen in case I died, my dad came to my rescue and pulled the bed up. My parents then comforted me and put me back to sleep.

Now, many of you may still be laughing, but this was a horrific night in my life; I have written poems and stuff of this horror! I can still remember screaming for my parents in thought that I would never escape. Some of you may have similar experiences. If you do, I bet you can remember the fear and pain. Then, as we scream, "Dad! Mom!" someone finally arrives and rescues you in what seems to be easy fashion. I think of my Christian life in this way. At just the moment when I was going to give up, at just the moment when I thought no one was there, at just the moment when we felt there was no escape, we were rescued by our Father. What makes this more beautiful is that this Father, this God, didn't even have to save us. But he did. And now, I can cry "Abba! Father!" in my pain, and he hears me. He has adopted me as His own son.

I have been blessed to marry such a wonderful, loving woman. I could tell stories of her grace and forgiveness that would make you all want to go watch Sleepless in Seattle or some other flick that you only watch when you believe in love. She loves me daily, even when I am not loveable. But the best part of this woman is not even her love for me. I know, you all know I am going to say some cliche Christian thing like "She loves God more than me" (which is absolutely true, by the way), but I really want you to understand that Laura's love for the Lord has evoked a deep, intense passion for the lost and abandoned of this world. I am blessed to have such a woman in my life to remind me that my call as a Christian does not end in some happy, comfortable Christian box (be it my church, seminary, or endless podcasts of great preachers), but goes beyond the limits of the safe and comfortable. Christ died for the hopeless. Laura has been blessed to see how God's adoption of us leads us to care for others. Adoption is biblical.

I know some of you are asking, "What is he getting at? Adoption?" Yes. I am. Many have asked Laura and me why we believe in this so much. I will tell you simply; it's biblical. You cannot read the words of Christ without encountering the command to care for those who are in need. You cannot read the words of Paul without encountering the biblical nature of adoption. And you cannot look at this world without seeing that children need both Heavenly and Earthly parents more than ever. Tonight, as I have been reading the Bible, and a girl's blog who has given up everything below the age of 20, moved to Uganda, and adopted many children (click to read her blog), I have been brought to tears at the love of God and the need of the world. Laura and I have been praying for adoption since the day we got married (literally, that has been our nightly prayer). We urge each of you to pray the same.

In Christ,
Steve


P.S. check out a few resources on adoption:

Tony Merida (Laura's old pastor) wrote a book recently, Orphanology (click to see the website)
Russell Moore, Dean of Theology at Southern Seminary, also wrote a book, Adopted for Life (click for his blog)
Christian Alliance for Orphans, website