Welcoming Jesus Through Adoption
Scripture Reading — Matthew 18:1-6
"Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:5
While I've been writing these devotions, my wife and I have been eagerly looking forward to joining our daughter and her husband as they go and pick up their adopted daughter in Korea. It's been a slow, costly process, and there are lots of unanswered questions. Especially in the past some people looked at adoption with a lot of skepticism. Others rejected any notion of adopting, choosing instead to remain childless. Still others considered adoption as a last resort. And some children who have been adopted have lived with resentment, because they are treated as second-rate. But adoption is not second-rate! According to the Bible, each one of us has been adopted. Ephesians 1 and Romans 8 tell us clearly that through the honor of adoption you and I have become part of God's family. Anyone who puts down or thinks little of adoption needs to be reminded that God loves us so much that he wants to adopt us all. Matthew 18 tells us that each time we welcome a child in Jesus' name, we welcome him. Parents and families who have opened their hearts and homes through adoption have welcomed the Lord Jesus into their homes. Thank God today for your adopted children and grandchildren. Thank God for adoptive parents. Thank God also for adopting us as his own children!
Father, thank you for adopting us as your children. Thank you for adoptive parents and adopted children. Help us all to welcome you into our hearts. In Jesus, Amen
About the author — Arthur J. Schoonveld
Rev. Art Schoonveld is a retired minister in the Christian Reformed Church. Before retiring in 2001, he served churches in California, Illinois, and Michigan. Since his retirement he has worked part-time for the denomination and has served as an interim pastor. Art and his wife, Anita, have four children and nine grandchildren.
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