Adoption as An Act of the Gospel

By Sammie Gallo, Creator of Abundant Life: You Were Made for More

The deepest and strongest foundation of adoption is located not in the act of humans adopting humans, but in God adopting humans. This act is not part of his ordinary providence in the world; it is at the heart of the Gospel. Galatians 4:4-5 is as central a gospel statement as there is: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” 

Let me say this again: Adoption is at the heart of the Gospel. Period. No questions asked. 

I pray that whether you have adopted, or are engaged in assisting adoptions, or are pondering an adoption, God will use this message to heighten your confidence that God is graciously involved in our adoptions. He has participated in adoption himself. He knows what it costs. 

SOME TRUTHS ABOUT ADOPTION, ACCORDING TO THE GOSPEL

Adoption was (for God) and is (for us) costly.

• For God – it cost him the price of His son. For us, there are also huge costs in adopting children. Some are financial; some are emotional. There are costs in time and stress for the rest of your life. You never stop being a parent until you die. And the stresses of caring about adult children can be as great, or greater, than the stresses of caring for young children. There is something profound about the embrace and acceptance of this cost for the life of a child. Praise God for people ready to embrace the suffering—known and unknown – so that the worth of Christ would shine more visibly. 

Adoption was blessed and is blessed with God’s pouring out a Spirit of sonship.

You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. (Romans 8:15-16)

• God does not leave us in the condition of aliens when he adopts us. He does not leave us with no feelings of acceptance and love. Rather, he pours his Spirit into our hearts to give us the experience of being embraced in the family. The same is true when we decide to embrace a child and welcome them into our families – we are committing to providing them with acceptance, love, and embracing them as our own – something that is only reflected truthfully in the Gospel. 

Adoption was (for God) and is (for us) seriously planned.

• This is a vital point that we must agree on: adoption in God’s mind was not Plan B. He predestined us for adoption before the creation of the world. Plan A was not children who never sinned or needed to be redeemed. Plan A was creation, fall, redemption, adoption – so that the full range of God’s glory and mercy and grace could be known by his adopted children. Adoption was not second best. It was planned from the beginning. 

In our lives, there is something uniquely precious about having children by birth. That is a good plan – a great plan! There is also something different, but also uniquely precious, about adopting children. Each has its own uniqueness. Your choice to adopt children may be second, in the way that you see your life going or in the way that you have planned… but it does not have to be secondary. It can be as precious and significant as having children by birth. God is able to – and in many cases – has made adoption the best plan for so many families.

When I was typing this blog and researching what God’s Word has to say about adoption, I really was struck by something. The “groaning” that the Bible talks about is so relevant to us all, no matter what our walks or our stories look like. In daily life, we feel the groans – as our bodies age, as our muscles and bones creak with physical labor, as we emotionally face hardships that we don’t know how we will get through, or as we fight spiritually during our time on earth – we feel the groans deeply. 

As a parent of a child with disabilities, this is especially relevant to my own journey with the Lord. I know all too well the “groaning” that this life can bring. I was rifling through an old journal and found an excerpt of me processing my emotions when I was coming to terms with the fact that my son would likely have significant disabilities for the rest of his life. I’ve retyped it below to share with you all.  

“The journey of being a mom to a child with disabilities is hard. So hard. You cling to hope but you don’t know if you should. Sometimes you are right. Sometimes you are wrong. But you don’t know what will be what and it is painful to gamble. A lot of days, I just preach the Gospel to myself over and over again. Reading, writing, speaking the truths that I’ve learned in my years of walking with God as I’ve tried to bind my heart to His.” 

I vividly remember writing those words a year ago. I couldn’t get the words on the paper without crying. I’m not ashamed of it, nor do I regret it. It was right and good. I was grieving and being in the world of disability was new and scary for me. Now over a year later, I can read and type those same words knowing how the grace of God has carried me through the past year. The grace of God quite literally has held me up in times where I did not know how to stand in the morning. It is days like today where I am so thankful for the Gospel. For the hope it offers me as a mom. For the hope it offers my son, even if he will never understand it fully himself. 

All of this groaning is groaning in hope because we are adopted by God and destined for a resurrection and an eternal future of health and wholeness and joy. It will be worth it all – I’m sure of it. This month is Adoption Awareness Month. Traditionally during this month, we take time to highlight the profound impact of adoption, celebrate adoptive families, and serve as a call to action for prospective adoptive parents to connect with children waiting for permanent, loving homes. Would you join us this month in praying that hearts would be open to adoption and that the Lord would stir up something in the hearts of His Church?