God’s Plan for Adoption

My brother has a son and daughter which he and his wife adopted. They have been a blessing to our family since the day we received them. This post is dedicated to them.

You Were Chosen
For the chosen child, there’s a flood of questions swirling around adoption and what it means for your identity and self-worth. You may struggle with feelings of rejection or fear of being abandoned or unloved. Today I hope to expose those feelings of fear and doubt to the light of God’s Word and enlighten you to God’s plan for adoption. May it be a blessing and comfort to all God’s children, given and received in love.

The Beautiful Child Moses
In Exodus 2:5-10, the Pharaoh of Egypt decreed that all the boys born to the people of Israel be killed. In a desperate act of faith, Jochebed wrapped her son in swaddling, put him in a basket, and let the current of the Nile River take her son away. Although there were crocodiles and other dangers in the river, the child faced certain execution if she kept him. Letting go of her baby had to be the most excruciating decision of her life. 

Children Bring Joy and Strength in Battle
Through the providence of God, the Pharaoh’s daughter found him and raised him as her own. Can you imagine her joy, when she was called to nurse this mysterious child that was pulled out of the water: her child?! That precious baby Moses would grow up to lead the children of Israel out of captivity and into another moment of inexplicable joy.

When the children of Israel entered the promised land, they brought down the walls of Jericho with a shout. The scriptures don’t explicitly say it was a shout of joy, but with 40 years wandering through the desert behind them, and the fulfillment of a 215-year-old promise before them, you can bet it was a cacophonous shout for joy! Joy has the power to tear down walls! 

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
Psalms 127:3-5

Little Arrows
Not only are children a blessing and a reward, the psalmist compares them to arrows! You pierce our hearts and drive us to shout for joy and praise God. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). You guard our hearts against depression and rejuvenate us with your contagious energy and laughter.

Why Adoption?
Why you were adopted? Why did God adopt us? The first and obvious answer is love. Your parents adopted you because they loved you. God adopted us because He loves us. But what is the purpose of adoption? Paul gives us a hint in Romans 11:16-24. As Gentiles, we are the wild branch that has been grafted into the cultivated olive tree. Grafting a wild branch into a cultivated tree creates a new tree that is stronger than either cultivated or wild tree! The new tree is more resistant to disease and produces more fruit! This is God’s plan for adoption. It is a blessing given to strengthen and rejuvenate us for God’s work. It brings joy and points to God’s ultimate plan for our salvation. Thank God for the blessing of adoption.