God's plan of adoption

God sets the solitary in families
Psalm 68:6

This Bible verse is the basis for my passion for adoption as a care option for orphaned or abandoned children. Apparently, there are over 100 million orphaned children in the world. These children have been left alone, without a family to care for them. I believe that God’s ideal for each of them is that they would have a loving family. While other care options (such as institutional care) can provide for physical needs, the family is God’s best way of providing long-term love, emotional connection, and social networks.

Adoption is also a concept rooted in the Christian doctrine of salvation. God uses the words adopted and adoption to describe his actions toward us. This is a precious thing to remember at Christmas. We are God’s children because he sent his son to die for our sins, so that our relationship with him could be restored and we could be adopted into his family. God planned for us to be his children before time began “having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (Ephesians 3:5).

Galations 4:4 – 7 says:

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Keeping the gospel in mind can help us to know how to respond to some of the objections to adoption that are often raised. Many people are hesitant about inter-country adoption, or inter-racial adoption. Remember that God has adopted into his family people of every tribe and tongue and nation. He does not discriminate against any, but meets the needs of all. Christian families do well when they reflect the diversity of the family of God. Many people also have concerns about the child’s background, and whether they will cause trouble in their adoptive family. Remember that although we rebelled against God and even hated him, he forgave and welcomed us into his family.

At the end of January, I hope to post more on adoption.