"For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ...." Ephesians 1:4-5a (NIV)
We get the questions pretty frequently. "What made you decide to adopt?" "How long did it take?" "How much did it cost?" The answers are...God. For God's work in our hearts, about 5 years...the actual adoption process, almost 2 years. And $20,000.00.
God placed the desire in our hearts...mine and my husband's. He confirmed it over a period of several years...in visible, tangible ways. There was a longing in our hearts...an empty chair at our table. We knew it was a part of His plan. Before creation, God chose to grace our family with a precious daughter from China. Oh, how thankful we are that we chose to obey!
Now, I'm not Presbyterian (smile to all my Presby friends and co-workers!!)...but not at all afraid of the word "predestined" in the verse above. Staying away from denominational stances, I'll just say that I do believe that "He chose us in Him before the creation of the world"...and that applies to all of us. As John 3:16 (NIV) says, "For God so loved that world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." There we are given the choice...to believe or not. To accept the gift...or reject His plan for us.
Until we choose to say "yes," we are orphans...without an eternal home...without a forever family.
Through our experience of adoption, we can see a glimpse of the enormity of God's love for us...the choice He made...to make a way to give us a new life...the price that He paid...His sacrifice, beyond our inklings of understanding...His desire to have us as His own...His willingness to wait, no matter how long it takes...and the reality that He calls us His own...joint heirs with Christ.
"In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of His glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the Word of Truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of His glory."
Lord, Your love is amazing...overwhelming...incomprehensible. Thank You for loving us as Your own. Thank You for the price that was paid..."Oh, to grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be". Help me to be worthy of being called Your child. I love you.
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