adopted

from my message on 6/3//12 from Romans 8:12-17

Adopted....there was a girl named Kay in my class in Littlefield, Texas, who was adopted.  I don't know how I knew that she was adopted; I just knew it.  Adoptions was something we didn't talke about much.  It was hush-hush, sort of taboo.  Maybe you had the same experience.

Today, it is so different.  You can go on the internet, and there is wealth of information and communication about adoption.  I went to the Methodist Mission Home website, our adoption services provider in San Antonio.  You can find out about open adoptions where the birth parents and the adoptive parents are in relationship.  There are infant domestice adoptions.  There are international adoptions.  There are mixed race adoptions and adoptions of children with special needs.  There are older child adoptions; in fact, over 3,000 older children are awaiting adoption in the State of Texas.  There is something called embryo adoption, where over 500,000 frozen embryoes are up for adoption.  The Methodist Mission Home charges a flat fee of $30,600 for all medical and legal concerns.  Their mission statement is:  Giving God's Children a Faith, a Family, a Future.

So we come to the scripture passage today where Paul writes to the church at Rome that all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.   We have received not a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but a spirit of adoption, allowing us to address God as Abba, Daddy.  We have this kind of intimacy with God.

I read an article this past week that revealed something I never knew before about the Jewish rite of circumcision, where an eight day old baby boy was received into the family.  The birth father could decide that the child was not worthy and so would not be circumcised, and so not become a part of the family.  I thought is was a done deal, that a boy would be born, circumcised and known as a family member.  This article said that it was not a biological act, but a theological act, where the father could receive the child or not.  Circumcision then had some element of adoption about it.

The other context is that of the Roman empire.  Adoption was common, especially among emperors who would choose someone to carry on their lineage.  So Paul may have had these 2 things in mind as he writes.  He is trying to say we are accepted by God into the family and that our identity in the family is sure.

Now I have given you a  lot of good information about adoption, but how does it feel? What is that experience like?  We have a mother in this congregation, Dianne, who was willing to share her story of adopting Natasha.  I give thanks to our newest staff member, Jonathan, for putting together this 3 minute video of their story.  This represents about 6 hours of work.

(video of Dianne talking about the lengthy, arduous, joyous process of adopting Natasha from Russia)

Wasn't that wonderful?  Can you imagine someone coming to God and saying, Here's a child?  Do you want her?  And God says, Yes.  Bonding takes time.  Can you imagine God investing that kind of time in you?  Adoption is intentional.  Can you imagine God saying, I really want to do this.  

Revel in this for just a moment.  You are adopted.  You are God's child, not by biology, but by God's choice.  You are wanted.

Then, consider this:  all of these other followers of Jesus are adopted too.  Can you imagine how we would treat one another differently if we understood each other as chosen by God, adopted into the family?  Look around at these wonderful, crazy people here.  All adopted.  Baptists.  Adopted. Catholics.  Adopted.  Lutherans.  Adopted.  Church of Christ.  Adopted.....We all cry out, Abba, Daddy. 

The good news I have to share with you today is that you are adopted.