A few days ago I mentioned the sermon Dan Cruver preached entitled "God's Story of Adoption". I just got the chance to listen all the way through, and I want to highlight a few of Dan's key points.
In the sermon, Dan explains why it is that theological adoption is such an important concept in the Bible, in spite of the word "adoption" being used just 5 times in Scripture. Essentially, God's adoption of His people has a "marking" function in the history of redemption. In other words, adoption plays a key role from the beginning (before God even created the world) all the way to the end (when all of God's adopted children enjoy the full privileges of their adoption in the new heaven and new earth).
Particularly interesting is Dan's explanation of how adoption relates to the doctrines of the Trinity, the fall of Adam, the election and failure of Israel, and the rescuing work of Jesus Christ that accomplished what God's "other sons" failed to do. Dan points out that humans are created for sonship - to enjoy the love of God as sons, and to show the love of God in families. Because "sonship" is so important in God's creative purpose, it is a travesty that there are orphans in the world - a mark of how damaged the creation is by sin.
A very important point (and one that I don't recall Dan having talked about on the blog before) comes in during Dan's conclusion. He says that when Christians adopt, they must not have the mindset of taking on a "project." Adoption is not a "project"; instead, it is an expression of deep, abiding, and profound love. Adoption is about relationship: what an orphan needs most is a relationship with father and mother. I think that this way of thinking about adoption is very helpful to prospective adoptive parents who are sorting through their motivations and developing a mindset about adoption.
Of course, there's so much more in the sermon, and I encourage you to listen to it. It's rich and Christ-centered.
Josh, VERY nicely done! I listened to the sermon earlier this week and have been working on a blog post pointing my readers (all two dozen of 'em!! Ha!) to Dan's sermon. But YOU have done such an excellent job that I'm just going to point them to YOUR post!
BTW, as an adoptive mother of two I whole-heartedly and loudly agree with the points Dan made on the mindset of taking on a 'project'! Oh, what a huge mistake that is! Yes, there should be goals and plans made, but those must be guided by the gospel not by our culture and how the world views adoption.
The "relationship" is KEY to adoption, especially when adopting older kids who have the history and ability to understand what poor/weak relationships look like. If I/we take our children on as 'projects', then we end up being nothing more than caregivers like the people who come and go in the orphanages. By contrast, the relationship we as Christian parents must establish is to mirror the relationship of our heavenly Father--it is lasting and it is complete! No longer strangers (often from a strange land), but total and complete family members!
Sorry, I'm not a woman of "few words" when it comes to adoption! Thanks for this clear and excellent post!
Hi Angela, I believe Marissa is cunetrrly in foster care. If you're interested in adopting her, you can email email hidden; JavaScript is required/* */ and they can get you set up with the foster. Thanks so much for wanting to adopt!
First let me say that you are right... 7 million is a HUGE nbemur still. There are indeed millions of children who truly need adoption (though it may not be International adoption). There are millions and millions more who do NOT need adoption, but who are vulnerable and need our (the Church's) support so that they do not end up in orphanages, the streets or worse. Now that we both agree that there are real needs, a real crsis, a real need for adoption, lets talk about why it DOES mater that we are truthful about the nbemur of orphans and do not lightly use the 147 Million orphans nbemur.See when people say there are 147 million children without homes, or 147 million children who need families or 147 million orphans, first of all that is a lie and a Christian should never lie even for a good cause. Second, that nbemur means that people are able to easily dismiss corruption. Lets be real, if there REALLY are 147 MILLION (MILLION, Ya'll!!!) children out there without a family or home there is NO WAY many are being bought, stolen and tricked away from their families. WHY with 147 MILLION children to choose from would anyone bother with the legal and financial risk and hassle of obtaining children illegally and unethically? The answer is they would not. And since children ARE being adopted unethically and not just a few here or there, that leaves only one real explanation.... there simple are not nearly that many. Not even enough to bring less then 12,000 to the US in 2010 without unethical adoption. Or at least not enough of the right type.
Thanks Josh for posting this summary! It inspired me to plant myself in a chair and listen to the 'rest' of the sermon. Until you reviewed it I had listened to the first 10 minutes, four seperate times. But that's just reality with so many blessings scooting around under my feet. I am so glad that I made time to hear the rest. Problem is, I'm already addicted to the joy God brings through adoption and now I just don't want to stop. Good thing I don't have to ask how many is enough - God is deciding that one and His plans are perfect!
What a beautiful story of adpotion done right! I love your heart. It is obviously in the right place. I know you want to do the right thing. Because of that, I want to ask you to please not say things like "there are 147 million Kirill's". Because it is simply not true. That number, that 147 million number, comes from UNICEF... it counts any child who has lost even one parent by death or desertion. About 10% or 14 million are truly without both parents. Of those the majority, or at least 7 million and one, live with grandparents or other relatives. So now you are left with 7 million orphans who actually need a family. Yes, that is still a HUGE need. Why is it so important that we say 7 million NOT 147 million? It's not to allow Christians out of their responsibility to the orphan. No, it is to stop the horrible corruption that dominates the adpotion industry. It is to open eyes to see that the little healthy baby "orphan" they think they are saving was actually taken form his mother so someone could make $$$ simply because there are thousands of American Christians wanting to "do the right thing". But the right thing is to help/visit the WIDOW in her distress, not declare her cute cuddle babe an orphan so he can be "visited" right into a new home. What those children need is NOT adpotion but a little help so they can remain where God placed them, in the families of their birth.So Tesney keep advocating for all the true orphans out there like Kirill, but for the sake of the thousands of children who stand to loss everything due to adpotion, please don't equate all 147 million to him.