A few weeks earlier, I had the good fortune to be with a Christian brother. We both attended a church activity one Saturday morn and over lunch, we talked about many things : business, relationships, Christian ethics and many other relevant things.
Then we transferred to another place to have coffee since it’s not yet time to go back to the sanctuary. Over coffee, we talked about adoption. The idea actually came from him. It was like the Spirit compelled him, he said, to tell me to consider adoption. Not that I’m looking to adopt at this point. However, I did not find it offensive when he suggested to me the idea of adoption even if I am still single and has no medical record whether I’m “baog” (infertile) or not. So why adoption? I am just guessing that maybe at my age (in my 40s, still single and unattached), I can already consider that option (when the right time comes).
We were talking about generosity and adopting a child is one of the highest forms of generosity, according to him because you are giving your life to raise a child. You will feed the child, clothe the child, finance the child’s education and more importantly, raise the child according to God’s will. As an offshoot, the good thing about it is that when the adopted child grows up, it will be that child’s turn to give back by taking care of his/her foster parent/s, out of love. But he stressed that you are not adopting by seeking something in return. Maybe, it will be a natural reaction of the child for being grateful because he or she was taken care of when nobody wants to. Instead, he is suggesting it to glorify God. The irony in this world he said is that there are many couples who are childless and many children who have no parents and if only these couples will have the heart and wisdom to adopt a child because the need is great. Wow, I was telling him there’s one famous adoptive parents I know who took in children from different nationalities because they saw a need to be met: the famous Brangelina couple – Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Going back, adopting a child requires commitment and dedication, and most of all, unconditional LOVE, he said and God will bless those who decide to adopt a child who needs a parent. He added, instead of adopting a pet like a dog whose life span is about 10 years on the average, why not adopt a child and bless the Lord? By the way, we are not against taking care of pets because we are also animal lovers. I just mentioned the comparison in the context of adopting a child. Come to think of it. Why is it easier for some people to adopt a pet rather than a child?
In the end, adopting a child is a worthwhile consideration. My friend was telling me that the Almighty God will honor this act and those who have the heart and wisdom to take this challenge shall not go without receiving a favor from the Lord.
And here lies the wisdom in adopting a child:
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? – Matthew 5:46. This really made me think about it. Maybe when I’m ready, I would seriously consider it unlike before when I never really entertained the idea and even find it outright impossible. Praise be to God for the change in my attitude about it.
And how does our Heavenly Father view adoption?
We are also adopted in the family of God. How did this happen?
The Bible tells us that by receiving Jesus into our lives and believing in His name we gain the right to become God’s children.
John 1:10-13 says of Jesus,
“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (NIV)
Therefor if we are adopted, then we should also “adopt” a new mindset when it comes to adoption. For the Bible says:
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. – James 1:27
Image Credit: http://adoptionvoices.com
iamronniereyes.wordpress.com 