Adopted

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”  Romans 8:15

The most important thing you can understand about God is that He desires to have a personal relationship with the people He has created. There are no exceptions. No one is disqualified due to race, culture, socio-economic status, lifestyle, or gender. It is always God’s desire for people to repent of their sins and come to Him through faith in His Son Jesus.

“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”  2 Peter 3:9

The God who created the universe is patiently waiting…longing even…for those He created to come back to Him. What an amazing truth! And as if this were not enough, He doesn’t wait for us to return with our tails tucked between our legs, trembling in fear.  He doesn’t want to make us His slaves, but rather His sons and daughters.

Romans 8:15 reminds us that the Spirit of God, whom we’ve been given, doesn’t make us slaves living in fear. Instead, this Spirit brings about our adoption as sons, so that we can call God “Father.” The word “adoption” here is made up of two different Greek words: huios which means, “a son;” and tithemi which means, “to set in place.” 

I am not sure how familiar you are with the adoption process, but it is not easy. Setting an orphaned child in place as your child requires great resolve and sacrifice. Parents cannot enter into such a process half-heartedly. They must resolve to make this child their own and then get to work to make it happen.

The use of the word “adoption” in this passage serves to remind us that it is God who initiates the relationship with His children. A child cannot adopt parents; the parents must initiate that relationship. The same is true spiritually. We cannot come to God as His children; He must come and get us. We are orphaned by sin, cut off and alone, without hope or a way to belong. And yet God resolved, while we were still sinners, to make us His own. If we love Him it is because He first loved us.

You cannot truly know the depth of God’s love until you understand that He chose you. He fought for you. He sacrificed for you. And He desires to have a personal and meaningful relationship with you.

Father, thank You for setting me in place as your child, for adopting me when I was orphaned by sin. May my life continually display the glorious truth that You desire a relationship with me and with every human being on this planet. In Jesus’ name, amen.