Our family sits in limbo for the next few weeks. We legally have a new son, but we can not bring him home yet. When we traveled to Ethiopia, we were required to present ourselves to an Ethiopian judge who would decide if we were going to be able to adopt our son. She had already reviewed all of the paperwork and had a few questions to ask us before approving the adoption. Once she had asked her questions and was satisfied with the answers, she informed us that we had passed court and she was approving our adoption. We were, at the same time, relieved, overjoyed, and saddened.
We were relieved and overjoyed that we passed court and it was now certain that A was going to be our son. We were saddened because we now knew that we would leave a part of our family in Ethiopia until the U.S. Embassy was ready to allow us to bring him home.
Over the course of the adoption process, I have loved seeing how adoption mirrors God's plan of salvation. There are numerous places in scripture where we are described as becoming children of God when we receive God's gift of grace and mercy through our trust in Christ's sacrificial death on our behalf. Most everyone is familiar with John 3:16, which states that Jesus is God's only "begotten" son. So, if Jesus is God's only biological son (to use adoption terminology), how are the rest of us children of God? We are adopted. God has adopted us as his children. He has one biological kid and millions of adopted kids.
Romans 8 (from biblia.com) describes exactly where our family is in this adoption process:
14 For all who are eled by the Spirit of God are fsons6 of God. 15 For gyou did not receive hthe spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of iadoption as sons, by whom we cry, j“Abba! Father!” 16 kThe Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then lheirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have uthe firstfruits of the Spirit, vgroan inwardly as wwe wait eagerly for adoption as sons, xthe redemption of our bodies.
We, as a family, are in between verse 15 and verse 23. We have now legally adopted our son, but we can not yet be with him. The legal adoption has occurred, just as the moment of salvation is our legal adoption as children of God, but the adoption has not been completely fulfilled. The adoption of our son will be completed when we return to Ethiopia and take custody of him so that we can bring him home to be part of his forever family. Our adoption as believers will be fulfilled when Christ returns to this foreign country, Earth, and takes us home to be with the Father as part of His forever family. May God speed the fulfillment of both adoptions!
We were relieved and overjoyed that we passed court and it was now certain that A was going to be our son. We were saddened because we now knew that we would leave a part of our family in Ethiopia until the U.S. Embassy was ready to allow us to bring him home.
Over the course of the adoption process, I have loved seeing how adoption mirrors God's plan of salvation. There are numerous places in scripture where we are described as becoming children of God when we receive God's gift of grace and mercy through our trust in Christ's sacrificial death on our behalf. Most everyone is familiar with John 3:16, which states that Jesus is God's only "begotten" son. So, if Jesus is God's only biological son (to use adoption terminology), how are the rest of us children of God? We are adopted. God has adopted us as his children. He has one biological kid and millions of adopted kids.
Romans 8 (from biblia.com) describes exactly where our family is in this adoption process:
14 For all who are eled by the Spirit of God are fsons6 of God. 15 For gyou did not receive hthe spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of iadoption as sons, by whom we cry, j“Abba! Father!” 16 kThe Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then lheirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have uthe firstfruits of the Spirit, vgroan inwardly as wwe wait eagerly for adoption as sons, xthe redemption of our bodies.
We, as a family, are in between verse 15 and verse 23. We have now legally adopted our son, but we can not yet be with him. The legal adoption has occurred, just as the moment of salvation is our legal adoption as children of God, but the adoption has not been completely fulfilled. The adoption of our son will be completed when we return to Ethiopia and take custody of him so that we can bring him home to be part of his forever family. Our adoption as believers will be fulfilled when Christ returns to this foreign country, Earth, and takes us home to be with the Father as part of His forever family. May God speed the fulfillment of both adoptions!
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