Wednesday, September 9, 2009

A part of God's redemptive plan for humanity

The following is a portion of a post I read this morning on my new friend Christy's site:  Waulk to Ethiopia

I want to share it for a couple of reasons.  I want to help those who think adoption is just about getting a baby to think more broadly than that.  I think Christy expressed that well.  I know from experience that it can be limited to that.  My first daughter fits that category, but with her came much grace to see the adoptive love of my Father in a whole new way.  I was missing SOOO much, and if you are too I want to help you see the goodness of the Lord here.  Adoption is much bigger than parents getting a child and a child getting parents, as true as those things are and as beautiful as those things are, it is even better.  Read on...
Throughout Scripture, and in particular the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated into English as “heritage” is often used to refer to God’s land promise made to the people of Israel. On a number of occasions, it is used to describe the blessing of children, the “fruit of the womb”.... 
...Ultimately, the decision to adopt from Ethiopia was a matter of obedience to God, the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19), and other portions of Scripture (Acts 1:8; James 1:27; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:4-7). We recognize of course that these passages in and of themselves do not necessarily command us to physically and legally adopt children from the U.S.A., or any other nation, for that matter.

Instead, what we find so utterly amazing is how the adoption of children so dramatically reflects what God, through his son, Jesus, did for us on the cross. Where all of God’s children were once rebellious orphans and “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3) deserving nothing less than his judgment, in His grace, mercy, and love for us Jesus died for us “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). It is by this great love that we who were once spiritual orphans are able to cry out “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15).

With these thoughts we welcome you to our blog, Waulk to Ethiopia, and invite you to join with us, partner with us, and experience the excitement of this journey, the end of which will be that “heritage” from the Lord that we will call our child, and the extension of God’s Kingdom. There will certainly be trials along the way; we are confident that the redemption of the fatherless is not on the enemy’s agenda. Fortunately, we rest assured that the cause of children without homes finding a place in families who will point them to the King is part of God’s redemptive plan for humanity.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” – Jesus (John 14:18)
To read the entire post or to follow the Waulk's story, go to their blog  Waulk to Ethiopia

The other reason I wanted to share this post is to help get real people with real adoptions in the works in front of your eyes so you grow in your awareness, have real people to pray for, real people to encourage, real people to support.  I "met" Christy through my friend Erica Shubin...they love Jesus so if you do too, let me introduce you to your sister in Christ.  Her husband's name is Josh...by all means, meet him too. 

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