I am wanted

Last week's blog focused on abortion and the struggle that some women face in making the decision to have or not have a baby. And while some of them choose to go the abortion route, others sum up their courage and deliver the baby. Some choose to keep it, while others may give it up for adoption.

For many childless couples, adoption may be their only hope. When they finally overcome all the red tape and hold that precious bundle in their arms, that baby is as loved and wanted as the baby who was conceived by a willing mother.

Last week I met a couple who had adopted one of our students. The interest they showed in the child's education was greater than some natural parents show in their children. That couple reminded me of my aunt, who with her husband, adopted a little girl, who is now a grown woman. Even though my aunt and her husband have now passed on, Susan, as I will call her, remains a part of our family. After she came to know her natural mother, Susan told me she didn't miss anything by being raised by her adoptive parents. She couldn't feel the bond with her real mother as she did with her adoptive mother. I have heard similar stories from other adopted children.

Which brings me to thinking of the way God adopted us into His family and showers us with the same love and the same blessings as He gives to His own. We receive the same inheritance as those who originally belonged to God, that is the Jews. "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father" (Romans 8: 15). Abba is a Jewish term of endearment for Father, similar to Daddy or Papa. It is intimate; it is loving and is reserved for the children. But we, who have been adopted by God through Jesus Christ, have that same privilege to call Him Abba, Father.

"But when the fulness of the time has come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman. made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Galatians 4:5). So there we have it. We are God's children, His heirs, the apple of His eye, the ones He loved so much that "He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

So those of you who have been adopted by loving parents, consider yourself fortunate. You could have been aborted, but instead you were brought into the world and given a place in a loving family. Many children are born through unplanned pregnancies, but when you are adopted, the whole procedure is carefully planned and carried out. You are special. Someone went through a lot of trouble and paid money to get you. In the same way, Jesus went through a lot of trouble, paying for us with His own precious blood, because the Father wanted us. Think about that this week. He, the Creator of the Universe, wanted us and desired us.