ADOPTED

ADOPTED

Rom. 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

For years I struggled with the concept of spiritual adoption because I just didn’t understand it. Once you taste the reality of adoption it actually becomes precious to us. Many adopted children live in wonderful homes with great parents who take good care of them, but something deep down inside of them wants to know about their biological parents. They want to know where they came from. When I was growing up, one of my best friends was adopted. His parents never told him that he was adopted, but he knew that he was. His parents were fair skinned, Anglo-Saxon people of average height, and my friend had dark skin and dark hair and was about one and a half feet taller than his dad. He had obviously looked at his mom and dad and realized that they weren’t his biological parents. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Nevertheless, they didn’t tell him. Even though he knew his parents loved him, my friend always struggled with who he was. He struggled all his life with questions like, “Who am I?” ”Where did I come from?” and “What is my origin?”

When I would look at God’s adoption of us, I thought it was wonderful that He adopted us and gave us a break. But then I realized that a difference exists between adoption in the natural world and adoption in the spiritual world. The Bible says that God sent the “Spirit of adoption” into our hearts. As an adopted child in the natural world, you cannot take on the biological nature of your adoptive parents. You cannot take on their chemistry. They can love you. They can provide for you. They can be your father and your mother in every sense of the word, but biologically you didn’t come from them. The Bible says that when we became children of God, He sent His Seed, His Word, and His Spirit into our hearts, not symbolically but in reality. He planted the essence of God inside of you when you accepted Him as your Savior. He placed the nature of the Holy One within you. A royal seed was planted inside your heart. It’s different from what the world has. We are connected with our Heavenly Father by more than just a legal contract in which He has agreed to provide us with food, lodging, work, and eternal life.

I don’t want an arrangement like that, where I never get to see the Father, where I just have all my needs cared for. My greatest need isn’t my physical provision. My greatest need is to be loved. My greatest need is a relationship. Our Father does much more for us than just meet our physical needs. Out of a thankful heart we cry, “Lord, we love all the gifts that You give us. Lord, we appreciate all that You do for us. Thank You, Lord, for the great job. Thank You, Lord, for the car. Thank You, Lord, for the clothes You have given me. Thank You, Lord, for everything that You have provided. But, Lord, more than anything, I thank You that You have given me Yourself so that I can know You, so that I can walk with You.”