I am adopted.
No, I've never been in an orphanage, or even in foster care. I went home from the hospital with the very same mother who gave birth to me, the very same mother who I've lived nearly 24 years of my life with. I was not adopted by her, or even in this country. In fact, you could perhaps call my adoption the ultimate international adoption. I was adopted by someone out of this world.
As this Easter day comes to a close, I am reminded that centuries ago, when Christ died on the cross... it was my adoption that killed Him. He gave His very life to bring me home.
Think about it. In the act of adoption, a child who has somehow been deemed unworthy or too difficult to care for, is chosen by a parent who says "I will love this one. I will bring her home. I will be her family." I, who am not worthy of His love or grace, who have sinned time and time again, have also been chosen by my Father in Heaven, who has said "I have made this one in my image. I will give her love and grace."
When a parent sets out upon the journey of adoption, many sacrifices must be made. Time and energy go into paperwork and homestudies. Enormous sums are spent on agency fees, travel, various certificates and documentation, on and on. The sacrifices start right away, and they never end - because we all know that being a parent certainly involves them! And then I look to the greatest sacrifice in history - the one made by Christ for me... the sacrifice He made to adopt me. He was beaten, mocked, ridiculed, tortured and crucified because He said YES to my adoption.
After all that sacrifice, all the struggles and pain and frustration and waiting, wishing, hoping, dreaming that is the adoption process, 'Gotcha Day' finally comes. The day parent and child are united forever. The day a child who was once cast aside by society, a person, a situation - is welcomed into a family for eternity. This is a glorious day full of joy, a day when the fruits of that sacrifice begin to be seen. I would argue that all of us who call ourselves Christians have a 'Gotcha Day'. I remember mine clearly. I've certainly considered myself a Christian my whole life, gone to church, read my Bible... but when I was 14, I went through my Confirmation ceremony. That was the day I accepted Christ's adoption of me in front of my whole church. In that moment I was filled with such a joy that I can not even describe... for that was the day I came home to Christ - my 'Gotcha Day'.
Then, when many people consider the adoption to be 'over', as a family settles in at home, the truly rewarding part of adoption comes. Children who were ill, struggling, malnourished, unloved, alone, lacked proper care or treatment for their needs, are finally given what they need to flourish. Remember little Katie?
Look at the truly unbelievable progress she's made in sixteen months! And how about sweet Keith?
Home only 8 months and already such a transformation! And countless similar stories, of children brought back from unthinkable circumstances and come to life... stories of redemption. The same sort of redemption I will experience through Christ's love, through the grace He bestows upon me that absolves my unthinkable circumstances - my sins - and recalls me to life - true, eternal life.
I once read a quote that sticks with me, for I think perhaps no truer words have ever been spoken: "My friends, adoption is redemption. It's costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him." ~Derek Loux
So yes. I am adopted... and my adoption, yours too if you have chosen to accept Christ in your life, was the most costly of all. On this Easter night, I simply want to say "Thanks" to the Father who adopted me, who gave His very life to redeem mine; "Thank you", to Christ whose resurrection we celebrate on this day. I couldn't be more proud, or grateful, to have been adopted.
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