A Sermon on Being Adopted By God
(Note: Sermons can be heard in audio format at https://millersburgmennonite.org/worship/sermon-audio/)
June 16, 2024
Scriptures: Mathew 12:46-50, Ephesians 1:3-8a
Introduction:
My dad was touched when I gave him the notebook.
Dad is a note writer and over the years he had given me various notes on slips of paper or in envelopes with encouraging words or bible verses. Especially in college, rather than dreading an empty mailbox, I used to look forward to checking my mail where often I’d find a small envelope in my school mailbox addressed to me in my dad’s spidery hand. I had collected these notes over the years and for an occasion, Father’s Day I believe, I photocopied the notes and envelopes and cards and put them in plastic sheets in a binder which I gave to Dad to let him know how much his notes had meant to me over the years.
Not only was Dad touched, but he was surprised as well. He didn’t remember what he had said or how many notes he had written. But I remembered and still do.
In my life, I have had many other men whose words have also encouraged me and shaped me into being the man I am and who I continue to become. My mom, and other women, have and continue to shape me as well. I hope that in your own lives there are father and mother figures who took the time to teach you important life lessons or whose words of wisdom you continue to hear in your head and heart today.
Perhaps you as well have had the opportunity to speak into the life of another. As Christians in particular, in this family God has brought together, we are each other’s fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers, gifted with the privilege and the responsibility to challenge and encourage each other.
This (motion around the room) isn’t random. When it comes to God, there are no coincidences. Whatever you think of predestination, what I hear this morning in our scriptures from Matthew and in Ephesians in particular is that God had and continues to have a plan for the creation of a peculiar people, the church, the family of God.
“In love, God predestined and lovingly planned for us to be adopted as [His own] children through Jesus Christ.”
Family —- that’s a big deal.
Jesus isn’t telling us to dis our biological family (though I am sure at times we may want to). Jesus is simply reiterating God’s plan to expand the concept of family to include all of God’s children.
Blood is indeed thicker than water.
But the blood of Jesus is the thickest. Or at least, it should be.
Sounds rather peculiar, don’t it?
Let us pray,
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Homily
Today is the final Sunday in our Peculiar People sermon series. Throughout this series, we have attempted to define some of the distinctive characteristics of God’s people, those things that make us different or should set us apart from the culture around us. Some of those characteristics have included becoming better listeners, being ambassadors of reconciliation, and being willing to lose. Today we look at unpacking God’s radical redefinition of family.
Several years ago, I wrote a song called Forever Family. The chorus begins with these lines:
I’m sticking with a friend
Who sticks closer than
A sister or a brother
Or a father or a mother
I’ve been found by a forever family.
The friend I am alluding to is of course Jesus. The final verse of the song ends with an invitation:
So you wanna be more than a family friend
The door is open, Come on in.
It don’t matter what you’ve done or who you’ve been.
Then the chorus changes to these words:
We’re sticking with a friend who sticks closer than
You’re my father, you’re my mother, you’re my sister, you’re my brother, we’ve been found by our forever family.
As you may be aware,the term Forever Family is used during the adoption process to describe the family a child is being adopted into. There is the idea of coming home, that no matter what a child has experienced, there is a new future, a new identity, they are no longer alone or being shuttled from one short-term placement to another, they have been enveloped by the loving arms of their forever family.
The same applies to us as Christians. We have been adopted by God through Christ into a new family, the church, connected by the love of Jesus expressed in his sacrifice for us. We are indeed blood kin, only it is the blood of Jesus that binds us together.
What a powerful thought! Imagine what would happen in communities, nations, and the world if we would internalize that idea, that whatever blood ties bind us, be they family or tribe, they become subservient to the blood of Jesus.
There is power, power, wonderworking power in the blood of the Lamb, there is a power, power, wonderworking power in the precious blood of the Lamb.
The blood of Jesus has transformed us individually and is molding us corporately into God’s forever family.
That’s good news for those of us who have experienced relatively healthy relationships within our biological families. And that is good news for those of us who may have had less than healthy experiences with regards to our biological families. Unfortunately, at times, churches have not always been welcoming to singles, families without kids, or those who don’t fit the typical nuclear family. If we are serious about embarking on this journey with God to form a new family, the church is the place where that work should be happening for all God’s children.
You’re my sister You’re my brother, you’re my father, you’re my mother, we’ve been found by our forever family.
Now every adoption process is different, but as I was reflecting on this idea of being adopted into the family of God, my mind of course went back over our own experience of adopting our children. As I thought about the steps in our adoption process, I began to see some possible parallels of being adopted into God’s family, the transformative process that mirrors our spiritual adoption through Christ.
The First Idea: The Call of God
One of the first things that occurred with Rachelle and I was the idea of adopting. I still remember the conversation we had. I believe it was in the car, as we were traveling, when we had the first conversation about adopting, and we learned that, unbeknownst to the other, God had been speaking the same Word to each of us. In our analogy of being adopted into God’s family, this could relate to the call of God on our lives, drawing us to this particular place, this particular expression of God’s family. For us there was a gentle nudging by God’s Spirit, affirmed by the same in the other, that we should begin the process of adoption. Similarly, as Christians, we too start our spiritual journey by responding to the call of God. God beckons us through the whisper of the Holy Spirit, guiding us to find our place in God’s eternal family.
Think back on your own experience: What brought you to MMC? What caused you to respond to the prompting of God’s Spirit and enter into the family life here?
Moving: The Shift from Old to New
Again, our experience is different from the adoption process of others, but in our case, we needed to move, from West Virginia to Washington DC. Moving homes in the adoption narrative symbolizes our transition from the old life of sin to the new life in Christ. It is a profound shift, where we leave behind what was familiar and step into the unknown, trusting in God’s promise of a new identity as God’s children.
What brought you to choose Jesus? Have you moved geographically because of God’s call? Are you continuing to move towards Jesus in your spiritual life?
Establishing Residency: Abiding in Christ
While we moved to DC for Rachelle’s job, we had to move up our timetable because the children we wished to adopt were from the DC area, so we needed to establish residency in order to be considered for adoption. Establishing residency reflects our commitment to abide in Christ. Just as adoptive parents provide a stable home for their child, God offers us a permanent residence in love, a place where we are nurtured and where we grow in faith. Our residency as Christians is established by Jesus’ sacrificial love. Our response, our move towards Jesus, is our commitment to “pitch our tent” as it were among God’s people. We have a new identity, our identity in Christ.
How are you abiding in Christ? Have you fully embraced your new identity, your adoption into God’s family?
Education: Learning the Ways of the Kingdom
There was a lot, and I mean a lot, for us to learn as we began the adoption process. We needed to be certified in various things. We needed to read over the case files of the children. We attended classes on foster care and adoption. We met with various staff to go over the process. The same is true for us as Christians. None of us has a corner on the kingdom, yet we each have insights into what it means to be a child of God. I’d offer that education in our spiritual adoption is akin to discipleship. It is through the teachings of Jesus, the wisdom of the scriptures, and the accountability that comes with deep sharing with our brothers and sisters that we learn the ways of the Kingdom of God, preparing us to live out our identity as God’s beloved.
Are you continuing to learn the ways of God’s kingdom? Have you been, are you being, discipled, molded into a “little Christ,” so that each day your identity in Jesus is made more apparent?
Creating a Family: The Body of Christ
Eventually, after much preparation, our children were welcomed into our home. Two expanded to three and then to four (and then five if you count Puddin, our bunny, and then seven, after we adopted our dogs, Hobbs and Blue, and so on, to fish, a Guinea pig, and now our dog, Nina. Not all at once, of course). I am being a little facetious, but this adoption thing, especially with us as Christians, should have a momentum of its own, it is ongoing, expansive, we are so excited about being a part of God’s family that we can’t wait to invite others to join us. When we adopted our children, we became a family. When we are adopted into God’s family, we are becoming part of the body of Christ. We are not isolated believers but members of a diverse and unified family, each with a role to play, each valued and loved.
How are you participating in God’s family? You have a unique voice to share in this community. Are you using it? Are you being heard?
Discovering a Village: The Community of Faith
During the entire process, Rachelle and I found ourselves surrounded by a group of people who we called the Village. These people were counselors, friends, foster parents, family members, whose role in the lives of the children made them to want to continue to support them and us. The proverbial village that rallies around adopted children is mirrored in the community of faith. The church becomes our support network, a place of mutual encouragement, where burdens are shared, and joys are multiplied.
Do you feel loved and supported here? Are you loving and supporting your brothers and sisters?
Healing: Restored by Grace
As you may know, the adoption of our children was not an easy process nor has our subsequent journey as a family been without pain and struggle. Personally, I had many moments of doubt and despair over the years as I questioned God and our decisions.
But here now today in this moment I can say unequivocally without reservation that God is faithful. God simply asks that we be faithful as well.
Here now today in this moment I can say unequivocally without reservation that God is our healer. There is no trauma that God cannot heal. God simply asks that we be open to God’s healing hand.
Here now today in this moment I can say unequivocally without reservation that God makes no mistakes, God’s call is not fickle. God simply asks that we trust.
Here now today in this moment I can say unequivocally without reservation that God is an ever-present help in times of trouble. You are not alone. You are not alone. You are not alone.
God is has called you by name, by name, you are a precious, precious child of God. Believe it, family, believe it!
Welcome, welcome, to your forever family.
Prayer
Adopting One, May our understanding of our spiritual adoption fill us with hope and purpose as we live out our days as your children, embraced by Your unfailing love.
Amen.
Slow Mover 