Wednesday, April 15, 2015

An Adopted Child

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:5 NLT


Early this morning my thoughts were captivated by a young couple at Christian Heritage Church that lead our Worship. There maybe some better 'shows' on Sunday morning in churches around the country but there are none that is any more pure than the one at CHC. This young man stands with a humble, pure worship and 'allows' the people to join him. There is no 'plastic' in this experience, even when he is racked with pain from a family crisis, he stands there and lives his peace in the Holy Spirit. 

It appeared that was where my praise to the Lord was going to end and then the Holy Spirit began to speak. He took me to new understandings through the reflection of the deeper value this young couple brings to the Kingdom of God. 

When they were in their mid-20's, already having two lovely children and as most young families struggling with the financial demands upon their lives, a need presented itself. One of their family members had a baby that was conceived out of wedlock and in very sad circumstances. The baby was born to an Anglo woman but with an African/American man. The child resembled his father and it was very apparent the child was not going to receive the stability of a Christian home. This couple stepped up and adopted the child. They took the risk, paid the price and took the questions society would throw at them. The story goes of this young mom going to the grocery store and while standing in line the conversation with another lady ended with a haughty look of downgrading toward this young loving mom. The lady asked, so you have two kids (assuming the third black child was being cared for). When the young mom said, 'no, all three are mine', two white and one black, hmmm, she must be not such a nice girl. Funny now, but those can be very painful moments. 

As our heart was soaring with the Lord, the thoughts of how this young couple reflect the heart of their Father, The Master of the Universe was illuminated. 

First, it is obvious that we are different, we are not His chosen people, the Jewish. He loves us enough that he chose from the beginning to devise a plan to graft us Gentiles into His Kingdom as His children. Isn't it amusing when a Gentile tries to act like a Jew? (no it is sad). We can dress like, talk like, pattern our life and family after the Jewish people BUT we are still Gentiles. Yet in God's eternal plan, we are no less loved and cared for. Our Lord accepts us just as He accepts His own children when they call out to Him. 

Secondly, their provisions for the adoptive child is no different than for the children they brought into this world. This young couple have been with us for decades, the oldest daughter is in her second year at a Christian university, the second child a Junior in High School and the little 'adopted' child is in the eighth grade. In all the years I have walked with them in church and life (they were from the same Amarillo school as my kids and now their kids and my grandkids go to the same school, so I know this couple), I have NEVER seen a difference in the way they treat the adoptive child from their own. Isn't that just like our Lord. The Lord has a promised people and a promised land but His love is not so limited that He can't accept us and provide for us as He does for the Jewish people. 

Lastly, their protection for their adoptive child is no different from the other two. God will always have a remnant of Jewish people who will survive the discipline He must take His people through when they rebel and turn to idolatry. Isn't it comforting to know that He still stands with Dt 28 for the Jewish people and allows us to be included! We immediately think, what about the Holocaust? What about the individuals that were solid believers and yet they went through such terrible things? Were all of the Jewish people disciplined? No, God may have to deal with a nation of people and it may rain pain and terror on the just and the unjust but He has made us a promise, 'if we remain true to Him our eternal hope is secure'. He states in Matthew 10:28 to not fear the one who can destroy your body but to fear the one who can destroy our body and soul. We have this confidence that our eternal life, the real life, is secure even if we lose our life here on earth and have much suffering in the process. 

May God help us learn from this young couple that is really a quiet part of the Body of Christ with the exception of Sunday mornings with a guitar and a voice of worship to His God! 

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