Adoption is forever

After adopting a child, it is common for the child to struggle with a fear of abandonment.  Even after being placed into a new, loving home, they experience this nagging apprehension that at some point, the rug will be pulled out from under them again.  In their minds…if their birth parents rejected them (usually for an unknown-to-them reason), then what’s to stop their adoptive parents from one day doing the same thing?

Typically, this fear isn’t something that is clearly expressed.  Instead, it can surface at various points in childhood, adolescence, or even into adulthood.  Some examples include: behavior issues at home or school, hyperactivity, eating disorders, significant difficulties with interpersonal relationships, or even sleep issues.  It is also possible for an adopted child to move toward the opposite extreme – trying to do everything perfect, to be so incredibly “good” in the hopes that their new parents will never have a reason to abandon them.

The bad behavior is what receives the most attention and treatment attempts…but even if the child’s external performance improves, the deep-worry of potential rejection is often not addressed.  An adopted child at the other end of the behavior spectrum is unlikely to have their deep fears discussed, since it would be easy for the new parents to take such “good” behavior for granted.  However, the child’s insecurities are often shown in their depressive or anxious reactions when they do make a mistake.

To quote one adoption expert, “Young children do not understand about the legal permanency of adoption.”  The most impactful response to the child’s abandonment fears, however they are expressed, is a consistent showing of unconditional love and a constant reminder of who they are within their new family.

Which leads me back to thinking about all of us who have been adopted into God’s family.  Do we, too, struggle with a fear of abandonment?  Do we fear not being “good enough” for God to keep us around?  Are our struggles – difficulties with interpersonal relationships, eating disorders, addictive behaviors, outbursts of anger, anxiety, and the like – are these rooted in the fear that God will one day reject us?

I gently challenge you to consider your struggles, and look deeper to see if there isn’t an underlying trust issue between yourself and God.  It’s certainly possible you’ll need help to do this.  Think through this with a friend, talk to your spouse, or speak with a counselor.  We need to be honest with ourselves and determine if our drive for “Christian perfection” or “Christian rebellion” comes out of a deep-seeded worry that God’s love has a limit.

While I can’t walk with you through this important self-analysis, I would like to offer some truth to consider as you explore your heart.  The Apostle John started his gospel with this clear statement of adoption:

John 1:12
But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name

John’s entire book was written to present the clear message of how we become God’s adopted children.  He never mentions any other condition, only to believe in Jesus for eternal life.  He even said so as he closed out his book:

John 20:30-31
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples that are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

Paul reiterated this point when he wrote to the believers in Rome.  Paul goes to great lengths to explain that eternal life cannot be earned, we cannot do any work for it – it is solely a gift:

Romans 6:23
the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord

Later on in the letter, Paul also discussed the historical effects of Israel’s rejection of Jesus as the Messiah.  However, while describing how God hasn’t given up on the nation of Israel, he dropped this little nugget of truth:

Romans 11:29
God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable

Did you catch that?  God’s gifts are irrevocable.  Once He gives them, there are no take-backs.  No returns.  Once God gives you eternal life, He doesn’t retract it.  Once adopted, that’s it…you’re in.  You couldn’t earn your way into God’s family, and there’s nothing you can do that will get you kicked out.

You don’t have to live your rebellion or your perfection out of a fear that God might abandon you.  Once you believe in Jesus for eternal life, the matter is settled.  You are adopted – forever.  You are now part of God’s Forever Family.  This is legally permanent, according to the God of the Universe.

Keep Pressing
Ken

Fully adopted

A common saying in American culture is that “We’re all God’s children.”  This phrase is usually spoken as a soft-voiced platitude when attempting to stop a discussion about someone else’s poor behavior. 

However, we don’t find anything like this statement in the Bible.  Instead, we read that when someone does something wrong – tells a lie, commits murder, or anything in-between – we are revolting against our original design.  The Bible makes it clear that we are creatures living in rebellion to our Creator.  Nevertheless, the Bible does tell us it is possible for us rebels to change sides – for God’s creation to become God’s children.

How that happens was discussed in last week’s post.  We found that Jesus talked about it often, and His disciples echoed the same theme in their later writings.  The Apostle John concisely explained it at the beginning of his gospel:

John 1:12
But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name

When we believe in Jesus for eternal life, we become one of God’s children.  We are adopted into God’s Holy family. 

But after this moment of adoption…then what happens?  Our life’s circumstances are largely the same.  We’re still interacting with the same people we were before we believed in Jesus.  So, how are we supposed to navigate this life now that we are officially one of “God’s children”?

Many authors in the New Testament deal with what a Christian’s life looks like in this new family setting.  Most of the Apostle Paul’s letters are of him answering questions of what God expects His children to do, and Paul gives guidance on how God helps us.  This is especially true for his letter to the church in Rome.  The point of this letter is to tell believers how they can avoid God’s punishment (referred to as “His wrath”) in our lives here on earth.

In Chapters 6-8, Paul honestly discusses the difficulties we face with the internal war between us living selfishly and us living rightly.  It is a conflict between our past way of life – referred to as “the flesh” – and our new way of life – referred to as “the spirit”.  Paul repeatedly encouraged them to make the right choice, and at one point reminded them of the characteristics of the new life they had received when they believed in Jesus:

Romans 8:15
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.  Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”

The Aramaic word Abba would be equivalent to our English word “daddy”.  As adopted children of God, we no longer have to be afraid of God…instead, He has become our loving father, one that we can reliably call out to for help.

For further explanation of how Paul’s Roman readers would have understood this adoption process, here is some additional detail from Manners & Customs of the Bible:

Among the Greeks and Romans, when a man had no son, he was permitted to adopt one even though not related. He might, if he chose, adopt one of his slaves as a son. The adopted son took the name of the father, and was in every respect regarded and treated as a son. Among the Romans there were two parts to the act of adoption: one a private arrangement between the parties, and the other a formal public declaration of the fact. It is thought by some that the former is referred to in this verse [8:15], and the latter in verse 23, where the apostle speaks of “waiting for the adoption.” The servant has been adopted privately, but he is waiting for a formal public declaration of the fact.

In Romans 8:19-22, Paul discusses how the created world has been corrupted by the effects of sin, that even nature longs to be set free.  And then he compares nature’s longing with our own longing to be fully free as well…as you read the comparison, look for his second mentioning of adoption:

Romans 8:23
Not only that [the creation wants to be freed], but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits – we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

When we believe in Jesus for eternal life, the private adoption takes place.  We immediately have full access to our Father, and we have all the access and privileges of being one of His children.  However, the formal, public adoption proclamation has not yet taken place.  At that time, the flesh we currently fight against will be the body that is redeemed.

As we wait for that day, and as we navigate this still sin-soaked world, remember that we have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”  You have every right to do so, and be confident that God always takes care of His children.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

He believed in me

From 2006 to 2009, I was in a musical production put on by my church.  It was an annual play performance which focused on Jesus’ last week, leading up to His death, burial, and resurrection.  It was simply called “The Passion”, and it had been performed for many years.  For the years I was involved, I had the part of Judas.  I had a few speaking lines, and (thankfully) no singing parts.

By the time 2009 came, I was an established cast member, and I looked forward to the start of “Passion Season” which began with rehearsals in mid-January and ended with the last performance on Palm Sunday.  However, unbeknownst to me, this year was going to be different…and much harder.

About a week before our first rehearsal, I was playing a pickup game of basketball.  I had a step on my defender as I cut across the lane – but I felt a sudden pop in my right calf, almost as if part of the muscle had “unplugged” for a moment and went back in.  I went down like someone had shot me.  I got back up, but soon realized that I couldn’t put any weight on my right leg, with the pain and nausea quickly increasing.  A trip to a Quick Care facility and a visit with a Sports Doc a few days later revealed that I had three partial tears in my right Achilles and a small tear in my calf.  If my calf hadn’t torn, it’s likely that I would have had a complete Achilles tear.

Since all three tears were less than 50% across the tendon, surgery was not required.  Instead, I had to use crutches and a walking boot while attending a lot of physical therapy.  When I told “The Passion” director about my injury, he asked if I would be ready to go by performance week.  I assured him that I would be able to perform my part as I had in years past.

As the months went on, I hobbled around the stage in my walking boot, trying my best to work out the blocking and timing of the performance along with my fellow actors.  Physical therapy was exhausting, but I was making progress.  My therapists knew the importance of my part in the play and did everything they could to get me ready, including special pre-performance PT sessions that were akin to an athlete getting specialized treatment before a big game.  All of the showings went very well that year – with over 10,000 people attending altogether.  I still had a little tightness in my right leg, but I was able to manage it in a way that no one would have suspected that I had sustained a serious injury just a few months prior.

During the cast party, I asked the director: “Hey Dave.  I’m just curious, but what was your Plan B if I wasn’t able to rehab in time?”  We had never discussed me having an understudy, so I was trying to figure out who he would have tapped at the last minute if I had a setback or a reinjury.  His answer shocked me:

“I didn’t have a Plan B.  I believed you when you told me that you’d be ready.”

You could have knocked me out of the chair with a feather.  He took the word of a guy on crutches that in three-ish months, I would show up and play a principle character’s part for 10,000+ people to see the most important story ever told.  And he did so without a net.  No understudy.  No backup plan.  Think about the risk he took!  Think about the trust he had in me to fulfill my word!

Dave believed in me. 

This is a perfect example of what Jesus expects from us in order to join His family.  Jesus promises eternal life to those who believe in Him for it.  There are no other conditions.  Not repentance, not turning from sin, not confession, not promising to “do good deeds” or “go to church” or “give money to the needy”.  Over and over again, we see Jesus offering eternal life to those who would believe in Him.  Here are a few examples:

Luke 8:11-12
This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.  The seed along the path are those who have heard and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

John 1:12
But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name

John 3:16
For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

John 6:40, 47
For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day…Truly I tell you, anyone who believes has eternal life.

Here are some additional examples with the apostles reiterating this same message:

Acts 11:17
[Peter speaking about the Gentiles:] If, then, God gave them the same gift that He also gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?

Romans 3:22
The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction [between Jews and Gentiles].

1 Timothy 1:16
But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

1 John 5:11-13
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  The one who has the Son has life.  The one who does not have the Son of God does not have life.  I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

There are so many more examples I could have shared, but I think you can see the recurring theme: If we believe in Jesus for the eternal life He offers, He gives it to us.

Jesus is good for His promise.  We don’t need a “Plan B”.  There is no backup plan.  We can trust Him to fulfill His word.

Eternal life is available, all we have to do is believe in Jesus for it.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

The tunnel-vision trap

Tunnel vision is almost never a good thing, and it can be an easy trap to fall into if we get wrapped up in the troubles of this world.  Politics, in all nations, is a mess – but we fret and twist and turn and argue about them.  Overall, humans haven’t taken great care of the environment, and we can get sole-focused worried about correcting our influence.  We inflict pain on each other, on a scale that ranges from our nearby neighbors and that reaches other countries – and they do the same back to us.  Watch any news broadcast, and it’s easy to get wrapped up in someone else’s tunnel-visioned issue being presenting at that moment.

Christians are also capable of falling into this tunnel-vision trap.  We can get so wrapped up in church issues, community issues, and even just the day-to-day grind that we forget about the larger picture God is painting.  God’s plan for humans started at Creation and stretches all the way into Eternity Future. 

Thankfully, God left us reminders.  During his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul discussed how our present identity in Christ relates to our Eternity Future:

Romans 8:16-18
The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children also heirs – heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.

The troubles of this world and the suffering we all encounter – personal, health, and for being a Christian – can really bog us down.  We can easily become tunnel-visioned on all that is wrong with the world and wonder if any of this “Christian stuff” is worth it.  But when we keep this glory-filled future in mind, our perspective changes and we begin to see the world around us differently.  If fact, Paul also tells us that the creation itself is also looking forward to the revealing of that glory in us:

Romans 8:19-21
For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to futility – not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it – in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.

When Adam and Eve introduced sin into the world, all of creation was frustrated, muted, and corrupted – and it hasn’t been fixed yet.  At times in nature, we seem to get a glimpse of a deeper beauty, or the potential for something greater…but that notion is fleeting at best.  However, when God brings humans back to the perfection we were created for, the creation will be liberated as well.

Romans 8:22-23
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.  Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as firstfruits – we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

Both the creation and Christians are yearning for this future renewal.  This longing for newness will be fulfilled.  Until then, it is good to recognize our desire for our eternal home with Christ.  It keeps today’s difficulties in perspective:

Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Great grace, great love

Titus 3:5-6 ...He [God the Father] saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior

All three members of the Trinity – God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit – participated in securing our salvation from sin’s ultimate penalty.  Without God acting on our behalf, we would have been eternally separated from God and unable to become whom God created us to be. 

While our rescue from eternal death was God’s primary motivation, it wasn’t the only outcome from what God did for us.  Paul continues and explains God’s motivation in providing such a great salvation:

Titus 3:7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

To be justified means to be declared legally righteous.  Not guilty of the sin I’ve committed.  Since Jesus paid the penalty for all of humanity’s sin, and I have accepted that he took the punishment I deserved, I cannot be condemned to eternal separation from God.  As Paul said in his letter to the believers in Rome:

Romans 8:1-2 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

But did you catch what Paul was saying to Titus?  There is more to a believer’s life, something that goes beyond the initial salvation moment and experience.

Titus 3:7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

I have often heard justification explained as God treating the believer “just-as-if-I-had-never-sinned”, however Paul is saying that there is more to it than that.  We become heirs, we now have hope in an eternal future of life with God.  Perhaps a better statement for justification would be that God now treats the believer “just-as-if-I-were-Jesus-himself”.

While I am now treated as if I were sinless, I am also received as a member of the family and brought into the relationship found within the Trinity.  That does not mean that I become God, but I am loved as much as God the Father loves God the Son…which is an eternal, unbreakable love.  We are given privileges unknown to any other created being…and it’s all because we are associated with Jesus.

Also notice how we are justified…it is by his grace.  Not by anything we did or will do.  We saw earlier that our rescue was not because of righteous things we had done, it’s all a gift. 

How great is God’s love toward us?!

Keep Pressing,
Ken