Adoption

Adoption

This is Nicholas Andrew Gabriel Harvey. He was born in September of 2003. My ex-girlfriend and I knew when we found out the she was pregnant that we were not capable of taking care of him. I was 18 and headed off to college. She was 17 and still finishing high school. We weren't in love (not really), we weren't going to get married, we were two selfish teenagers who sinned a lot.

So we met the Harvey's, a beautiful little family who had been unable to have children on their own. From the moment that we met them, they exuded warmth and love. Not only did they love Nick and were excited for his arrival, but they also showed us love, and our families. We soon decided that they were going to be the family that adopted our son.

Adoption is such a wonderful concept. It paints a picture of God's redemption in a way that shows so much of His love. Our sin causes us to be spiritual orphans, in desperate need of someone who can take care of us. Then God, in his love for us, not only takes us in as a part of his family, but restores us to a higher place than we ever could be on our own. 

At that point in my life, I was unable to raise a child in any manner that would have been good for him. His life would have been incredibly hard as we had no jobs, money, or skills. And at that point in my life, I was so sinful and selfish that I probably would have resented him and his mother, probably leading to poor decisions or even abandoning them. You see, I could not provide for him in tangible ways, and I was not equipped to provide for him in emotional ways either. 

So the Harvey's took him in as their own. They are his parents. They love him exceedingly well and provide for him. He has a blessed life under the protection and in the presence of a loving family. In the same way, when we are adopted in to God's family, he provides for all our needs and blesses our lives. Through adoption, we relate to God the Father as our Father-Savior, to Jesus as our brother and co-heir and fellow sufferer, and to the Spirit as our leader and pledge (or "down payment") of our inheritance in Christ.

This is seen all throughout the Bible. In Ephesians 1:4-6 it says "In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved." Even in the Old Testament, the people of Israel saw the connection to God as their true Father. William Brown writes this in the Dictionary of Biblical Theology "God declares that he is the Father of the nation Israel, whom he loves as his child (Isa 1:2; Hosea 11:1). He tells Pharaoh, 'Israel is my firstborn son' (Exod 4:22). More specifically, he says to David (and the Messiah), "You are my son; today I have become your Father" (Psalm 2:7); and of David's descendant, "I will be his father, and he will be my son" (2 Sa 7:14). Although not precisely adoption passages, the instances of declared sonship in the Old Testament provide a theological foundation for Israel's designation as the children of God."

The God of the Universe offers to be our eternal father. This is a great gift and an amazing example of grace. We don't deserve it, it's not like he's standing at the window of the hospital nursery picking out the best and the brightest. Just like the Harvey's, He has loved us since before we were born. He's got a plan and the ability to offer us a life that we never could have had. 

My sin led to a young girl of 17 getting pregnant. But God's grace led to a happy, healthy young boy with a great family who loves to draw and play soccer and watch Star Wars. Thank you Father for adopting us into your holy family.