And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” Galatians 4:6
Before we had adopted three of our children, I had already titled one of my books on prayer, “Calling Him Daddy.” The title speaks of God’s desire for intimacy with his children in which we literally cry out with that spirit of adoption: “Daddy. Papa. Abba. My Father.”
I already believed that. I already knew it was true; I had preached and taught it, but I now know it in a new way since I did what he asked me to do through adoption. I understand it much better now that I have adopted children. I have a new perspective on the Father’s heart. It’s not just intellectual information or truth found in the scriptures. It is a personal relationship with a Father who delights in showing his love for me.
I understand viscerally a little better what God’s foreknowledge is about, because when those kids had no clue that we existed, we already knew about them. We already cared about them. We already wanted them to be ours. We were in the process of making the necessary sacrifices in order to make them our own. God put such a love in our hearts for these children that we were thrilled by the God-given privilege to be their mom and dad.
I realized through adopting these children that God’s love for me is not predicated on my response to him. It’s not, If I want to be his child, then he’ll start loving me. Jesus wept over Jerusalem and said, “How often I would have gathered you to myself as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings but you would not.” God’s love for us is greater and broader and stronger than we can imagine.
The irony is that the original temptation faced by Adam and Eve was the temptation to believe the lie, “God doesn’t really love you. He’s really not being straight with you, and he really wants to keep you from experiencing all the good that’s out there. You’re not going to die. God just knows that if you eat that fruit, you’re going to be like him, knowing good and evil. Don’t trust him. He doesn’t really love you. Don’t do what he says. You need to be your own boss.” That’s always been the temptation, not to trust God’s love, not to trust God’s truthfulness, not to trust God himself.
I’m sure I have a lot more to learn, because God is infinite, after all. Yet, I am so grateful that in the midst of the process of adoption and the years that have followed, I have been learning about my Father’s love for me. It is strong, pure, and a whole lot bigger than my love.
I’m learning about my position in the family. I’m secure. I’m secure in him, because he’s the one who sealed me as his. The Holy Spirit has been given as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. We have been sealed; the mark of ownership has been put on us.
When I was with our children in Ukraine, it gave me such delight to say, “These are my sons. This is my daughter.” I wanted people to know that they’re mine. We did things in Ukraine to make it obvious that they did not belong in an orphanage; they belonged in our family.
We’re part of a whole new culture when we move into God’s family. You and I need to look like we belong to God, and not like we belong to this world, and certainly not like we belong to our old master. We have been bought, redeemed, made God’s own, and because he is the one who makes us his own, because he is the one who saves us, there is security.
There is a comfort and a confidence that comes, because I know that my place in the family is not something I worked for. My place in the family is not something I achieved. My place in the family is something God secured for me. He made me his own. Therefore, I can rest in his love and know that I am his. I’m his, and he gave me his name.
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