Predestined for Adoption to the Praise of His Glory

This is John Piper preaching a sermon called "Predestined for Adoption to the Praise of His Glory" on June 20, 2004. It is about 35 minutes (much shorter than most of Brad's sermons!) but still definitely worth watching!

You may also click here to view the manuscript to this sermon which is a quick read with concise points of his sermon.

Let's Hula!

We had Isabella's 5th birthday party today! Everyone met over at Granna and Poppy's house because she wanted a "Luau Pool Party"! She has really learned to swim well so she wants to spend as much time as she can in the pool, hence the "pool party"! We decorated the outside with a "Luau" theme, we cooked hotdogs and hamburgers for lunch with of course, Hawaiian Punch to drink! Everyone had nametags with their "Hawaiian" name and that was fun to see how everyone's name was translated!

Isabella and Elijah got to wear their special clothes Granna and Poppy brought back from Hawaii which included a hula skirt for the birthday girl! I love this picture because Elijah is always grabbing Isabella's face to give her a kiss and Isabella always acts so annoyed even though she giggles afterwards!

She gave bright woven fans and hibiscus hair clips to all the girls and everyone got a special lei to wear! We had luau music playing in the background and even caught a few doing the "hula" dance!

It was incredibly humid and hot, so everyone was eager to get into the pool! After we played in the pool for a little while, we all gathered around the pool and ate lunch. Then, Isabella started to open her gifts after we cut the cake.

Here are all of Isabella's cousins (except little Ava and Isaac): Rachael, Isabella, Eli, David, Brett Austin

Isabella (after swimming) about to cut her cake that Mommy and Aunt Brittany made for her!

She received so many wonderful gifts and was especially excited to see her new bicycle from Mommy and Daddy!! After a few tries (and a few falls), she decided to put the bike away for a while. She said she would like to try it again "when I am 7 or 8"!

We all had a fantastic time especially when it was time to swing at the pinata! Everyone had many chances to take a "whack" at our little hula girl pinata but it was a little scary at how hard all the kids were hitting the hula girl pinata and laughing when her legs broke making her do the splits in mid-air! Actually, the adults got a bigger kick out of it, I think!

I love all these pictures of the kids swinging at the pinata!

Elijah and Isabella swining hard at the hula girl pinata! Someone needs to tell Elijah he needs to open his eyes so he can HIT the pinata!

Rachael taking great aim and David's face is priceless as he hits it with all his might!


Precious little Ava tapping the pinata and Brett Austin hitting a "home run" on the pinata!

And at long last, the poor little hula girl doing an impressive split jump while waving!

Our little birthday Princess!

Today is Isabella's 5th birthday! She has been eagerly waiting to turn 5 for some time now! She asked me if there were going to be balloons in her room when she woke up this morning, and I said without blinking an eye, "Of course!" (trying to remember if having balloons in her room on her birthday morning was something I did last year). I decided to go with the flow and early this morning before she woke up, I quietly taped the balloons to her bed. I also was able to take some pictures before she woke up which was amazing because she sleeps like a cat!
This is a picture of her bed with the balloons and you can see her little head barely peeking from the covers!
Isabella still asleep with her "lovey" P.J. (a gift from Daddy several b-days ago)
After waking up and getting clothes on, she took some balloons off her bed to play with! She LOVED waking up to the balloons! Looks like we started a birthday tradition!

Today was a day of "favorites", so she got to pick our her favorite cereal to eat for breakfast, she wore her favorite pajamas all day (except for about 3-4 changes of "favorite" outfits she changed into), we played her favorite games, and she got to eat her favorite lunch, and then Aunt Brittany brought her another favorite.....flowers! She absolutely LOVES getting flowers! Brad has kind of spoiled her on that! We ended the day with her birthday dinner at her favorite restaurant, Fuddrucker's, and a special cookie cake (you guessed it, another favorite!)
Every year on the kids birthday, I take a picture of them with something special of either mine of Brad's to show how they have grown through the years. Isabella wears my veil and Elijah wears one of Brad's West Point hats and his West Point ring. We always take Isabella's picture at my parent's house because that is where I keep my veil and other wedding things. This year, Isabella happened to be in her favorite pajamas she wanted to wear all day today when we took the picture! I love her expression in the second picture!

I don't know what has been so magical to her about turning 5 years old, but it has made me realize how quickly it has seem to pass! I feel like it was not long ago when she was born and how I couldn't even fathom her being 2 years old much less 5 years old! So, I decided to write 5 reasons why I love my little "angel face" (and of course, there are more than 5 but trying to tie into the whole "5 year old" thing!):

1. I love her because she loves Jesus so much and always wants to talk about Him!
   
2. I love her because she is so incredibly generous to others, always trying to help!
   
3. I love her because she is so sensitive and compassionate toward others!
   
4. I love her because she has such a great sense of humor and makes everyone around her laugh (and she has a wonderfully contagious laugh!)


5. I love her because she is so talented especially in drawing pictures!

She cried on her 4th birthday because she thought we would have her "baby sister" by then (when we were adopting from China), then she asked if we would have her by her 5th birthday and we told her probably not, but she asked if we would get our referral before her 6th birthday and we told her YES! So we hope that is true and hopefully sooner than that!

I'll Stand By You

Brad and I saw this video back in April during the American Idol Gives Back campaign and it was one of the numerous tools we believe that were used to tender our hearts toward Africa. We can already look back and see the many things that seemed insignificant to us at the time we really "nudging" us closer to Ethiopia. Carrie Underwood traveled to Africa with the Idol Gives Back campaign and filmed this video there:

Home Study phone interview

Our social worker, Beth, called today at 2:30pm for our phone interview. It was really quick and only lasted 30 minutes! She just needed some specific information regarding Ethiopia to add to our home study. We haven't talked with her in a while, so it was nice to catch with her!

She asked us if we had studied about Ethiopia, read any books or done any research on international adoption through Ethiopia. She asked about how we would adapt our family with two new children, where they would sleep, how is Isabella and Elijah handling the switch from China to Ethiopia, etc. We had to answer why exactly we are seeking Ethiopia instead of China now and how we would integrate the culture into our children's lives. She asked a few more quick questions that seemed pretty simple and normal even though we always are expecting really tough questions to surface. She explained a little about bonding and expectations which were really helpful and gave us some great resources. She assured us that she is someone to be trusted and someone we can come to for support and help if we need it. I think social workers sometimes get a bad name for all the sensationalized stories on television and in the movies.

All in all, it was a great visit! We are thankful we are moving closer towards the end of this process so we can bring our children home!

New MOWA rules

We received an email a week or so ago from Mary (from Gladney) about some changes possibly coming soon from MOWA(Ministry of Women's Affairs) in Ethiopia such as:

1. Adoptive parent(s) must be between 25-55 years of age.
2. Adoptive parents must be married for at least TWO years.
3. Married or single heterosexual individuals must have 5 biological or adopted children or less in the home.
4. There must be a 2 year age difference between the adopted child and a biological child.
5. Both parents are expected to travel to Ethiopia to pick up their child/ren, unless extenuating circumstances are presented and approved.

However, today Mary sent an email saying that the new changes were approved but families who have already started the program, will be "grandfathered" in. The new rules weren't really going to affect us anyway, except possibly #4, but now these don't apply to us anyway! We are constantly looking for good news anywhere about the adoption!!

Oh! and we paid our Home Study addendum fee of $200 to our old agency since we will be using the same social worker! We love her and she is a precious Christian lady who we really get along with very well!

Enoch's Story

This is the must-see video Brad and I found a while back when researching Ethiopia adoption. Enoch's story not only gripped our hearts but the hope that was brought forth from the Lord's work on his behalf compelled us to pray more fervently about the children of Ethiopia and our role in caring for "the least of these". Enoch's parents, Ryan and Abby, are now living in Ethiopia with Enoch as Gladney's In-Country Representatives and have also adopted a little girl from Ethiopia named Marta! When we travel to Ethiopia, Ryan and Abby will be there with us every step of the way! We are truly excited to meet them and feel the security of someone to "guide" you through the "in country" portion of the adoption!

Withdrawl from China

In order to formally withdrawl from the China program, we must submit a formal "withdrawl statement". We sent this to our old agency we used while pursuing adoption in China. They will notify China and ask that our dossier be pulled from their files and sent back to us sometime within 1-4 months. This has been a bittersweet decision, but one we know is pleasing to our Lord.

We, Brad and Kimberly Baggett, desire to withdraw our adoption application and dossier from the China program. For many years, we have shared the desire to adopt internationally and our hearts have always been tendered towards the countries of Asia and Africa. We initially choose to adopt from China since we loved their wonderful culture and we understood their program was very stable and predictable! We always knew that we wanted all of our children to be close in age, especially those who would be adopted, so as to feel a special sense that they were all closely knit within our family as the Lord ordained. However, as the wait time increased with the China program, not only did it become evident that there would be a tremendous age gap between our children, but the Lord began to tender and lead our hearts toward Africa (specifically Ethiopia). It took us some time to discuss and pray about the stirring in our hearts, but we feel confident that Ethiopia is where we are being led at this time. So, it is with a bittersweet heart that we request that China be notified of our withdrawl as our hearts still love China and the promise of a little girl we lovingly referred to as Scarlett Paige. She is still very much in our hearts and prayers and we excitedly hope for the day we might be able to travel to China to get her! As for now, we are thrilled to receive such blessings from Ethiopia and are walking in faith and obedience. Please know how truly wonderful this experience has been working with AWAA. We have been so impressed but more than that, we have been unmeasureably blessed by your kindness as well as your thoughtful and biblical guidance throughout this process. It is amazing to see the Lord work in adoption as we believe it is truly His heart! This journey for us is not over as we believe the road to China has led us to the children the Lord has for us in Ethiopia "for such a time as this"! We cannot thank you enough and will be praying for the work you do in the name of the Father!

Sharing in God's passion for the pursuit of His promised children!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Brad & Kimberly Baggett

Phone Orientation & USCIS

Yesterday, Brad and I had our phone orientation interview at 1:30pm with Judy from Gladney to discuss specifics about the Ethiopia program. She had already sent us a packet of information to read over the weekend so we would be prepared and have any questions for her ready to ask. It went smoothly but we had many questions since our situation is a little different than most and because all agencies have a different process and we had pretty much committed to memory the process for China with our other agency. There is so much information to process even though this is our second time to go through this...it stills seems just as overwhelming as the first time!! However, we were so pleased when Judy told us that we would receive a 25% discount off of all Gladney's program fees since Brad is a pastor!! We so relieved and incredibly thankful!

“I will pour out for you such blessings, you will not have enough room for it” Malachi 3:10

Judy also sent us the new form we needed to fill out (I-824 form) for the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services). Since we already have received permission from the government to adopt an orphan from overseas, we just need to inform them where to direct our information. The form has to go through the same approval as the I-600A form, but they will just change the entry city from Guangdong, China to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We will send this off with everything except our finalized homestudy. They cannot process it until they have our homestudy. Hopefully, that will come soon!!

We also sent a request for Gladney's Internation Adoption Application yesterday and sent the payment for it today!

Orphans of God

Interesting Info on Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world. Fossils of the oldest human skeleton, "Lucy," were found here in 1974. Ethiopia is located in East Africa just north of Kenya and west of Somalia and only a few hundred miles north of the equator. Interestingly, it is the only African country never colonized by Europe (with the exception of an Italian occupation during WWII in the 1930s). It is slightly less than twice the size of Texas. It shares borders with Kenya (to the south), Somalia (east), Djibouti (northeast), Eritrea (north) and Sudan (west).
Roughly 75 million people live in Ethiopia, and thus there is much diversity in food, languages, people groups, and customs. The landscape is breathtaking, from mountainous areas to parts of the Great Rift Valley, known as the "cradle of civilization" and the Nile River. (The picture at the top of our blog is of the Blue Nile Falls in Ethiopia.)

Ethiopia is traditionally a Christian nation. Ethiopia is split religiously, with official statistics of 35% to 40% Ethiopian Orthodox primarily in the north, and 45% to 50% Muslim, primarily in the South, and 10% animistic. Ethiopia traces its history and ruling lineage back to King Solomon and the Ethiopian Queen of Sheba. It is believed that the Queen of Sheba went to visit King Solomon and had a child with him. That son became the next Ethiopian king, so every Ethiopian monarch since then can trace their lineage to the throne of David.

During the 1980s, Ethiopia was stricken with crises of war and famine, leading to the still-lingering image the starving children of Ethiopia. Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie wrote a song called “We Are The World” and recorded it with many other superstars of their day. Proceeds from the sale of what ended up being the #1 song of 1985 went to famine relief. Today, Ethiopia faces an orphan crisis, as 4.5 million children have no family, primarily due to poverty and AIDS. Many orphans live on the streets, while others live in public and private orphanages.
It’s still the 4th poorest country in the world making about $160 per family per year. In addition:

• One in ten children die before their first birthday
• One in six children die before their fifth birthday
• 44% of the population of Ethiopia is under 15 years old
• 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition
• The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years
• 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world)
• 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone
• Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa
• In the 90s the population (3%) grew faster than food production (2.2%)
• Drought struck the country from 2000-2002 (first year no crops, second year no seeds, third year no animals)
• Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school. 88% will never attend secondary school.
• Coffee prices (Ethiopia’s only major export) fell 40-60% from 1998-2002.
• Ethiopia’s doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000.
• In 1993, after 30 long years of war, Eritrea broke from Ethiopia and became an independent nation leaving Ethiopia landlocked without any major seafaring ports.

Sources: Greening Ethiopia, Ethiopia’s Children, Global Income Per Capita, CIA World Facts

Requirements for Home Study

Today, we received a few emails from both agengies stating what their requirements are for completing our Home Study. We are hopeful that we will only have to complete an addendum instead of starting from scratch with our Home Study. A few more things need to be discussed and decided on. We are trying to wait patiently!

Judy from Gladney sent their International Orientation Manuel for us to look over in preparation for our phone interview on Monday (June 4th). It is a little overwhelming with all the information as every agency is different and handles the adoption process differently. I am having to relearn all the policies, requirements, deadlines and dates, etc. but what is difficult is that I already had our old agency and China's policies, etc. swimming around in my head. Everyone is continuing to be patient and encouraging during this process so we don't feel like we are flying solo which is a wonderful blessing for us at this time!

We are so excited to speak with Judy on Monday and continue our journey to our children! We are trusting completely in the Lord (which has ashamedly proven to be difficult at times!) that He will continue to guide us through this process giving us His strength and His peace!

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock." Isaiah 26:3-4.

Homestudy Addendum

We spoke with Judy at Gladney yesterday and she is sending us the Homestudy requirements to change our homestudy to reflect Ethiopia instead of China. We thought we might have to redo our entire homestudy but now have been told that an addendum is all we will need. This is exciting news because an addendum will take less time and less money!! Hooray! We will send the requirement to our precious social worker, Beth, (who we just love!!!!) who will make the necessary changes and send it back to Gladney for finalization!!!

We also were able to complete the Adoption Information Sheet to Gladney along with our first payment of $50. I think this will probably be the cheapest payment we will have to make during this entire process!!! I am trying to look for the positive, can you tell?

"When Love Takes You In"

Here is the video by Steven Curtis Chapman about adoption:

Finally moving forward...

All this month, Brad and I have been speaking with many people from both agencies trying to figure out how to make both the switch from China to Ethiopia and the switch between our old agency to now, Gladney. It is not as smooth of a process as we were originally told and there have been several bumps along the way, but it seems as things are finally moving forward and everyone is on the same page now. Both agencies have been absolutely wonderful and working so hard to make this change but obviously, there are so many formalities with dealing with the government, etc. Everyone involved is trying to use as much information as they can from our old dossier we sent to China and our completed homestudy to save us time, money and essentially many headaches. Right now, we have just been given preliminary paperwork to start the process for Ethiopia and the green light to start on our addendum for our homestudy. We don't know what lies ahead of us, but we are confident in the Lord's provision for us as He has always been faithful!

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

From China to Ethiopia

We officially decided to adopt internationally in April of 2006. We knew from a young age that we wanted to adopt and while we were dating discussed how we were both drawn to International adoption. (You can read more about our personal decision to adopt here.) We sent off for many adoption packets to get more information about adoption but we still had not yet decided on a specific country to adopt from. After much prayer and speaking with others who had rave reviews about their agency, we chose the same Christian adoption agency. At the time, the agency only served a few countries and we had the daunting task of choosing a country where our child would be waiting for us. For many reasons, we excitedly decided on China!

First of all, Brad had been able to travel to Asia many times for business and also for a mission trip. During his travels, he developed a great love and respect for the Asian culture and hardworking people. We also had spoken to our children’s pediatrician who was in the process of adopting from China and she spoke of the inexpensive cost of China as well as the very stable process they provided for adoptive families. Many years prior to our decision to adopt, we had attended a Family Life seminar with Steven Curtis Chapman. He spoke about his decision to adopt and his ministry called Shaohannah’s Hope. As he shared about adopting several times through China, his testimony pierced our hearts and the desire to adopt resurfaced and began stirring in our hearts. As we tearfully watched his video, “When Love Takes You In”, the realization of adopting a child who may not physically look like us began to biblically resonate how we are all made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). We left the seminar with packets full of information on adoption and our hearts full of anticipation of the Lord’s future plans for our lives! This experience, along with many others made a lasting impression on us as well as thrusting China to the forefront of our minds.

Shortly after this conference, we began the process for our adoption. We were informed that it would probably be around 10-12 months after we completed our paperwork when we would receive our child. Yet, as the months went on, that length became greater and greater. By the spring of this year, we were told that it would be three years or more until we would receive our daughter. At this point, we began discussing and praying about other possibilities. It was our desire that our adopted children be close in age to our biological children for obvious reasons. Thus, after this very difficult period of time, we decided that we needed switch our agency to Gladney to allow us follow our hearts to a newly opened country: Ethiopia.

This rather “sudden” change has caused several family members and friends to ask, “Why did you change to Ethiopia? I thought God called you to adopt from China.” This type of question certainly deserves a proper response: one that is logical; yet, most importantly biblical.

As we sought to answer these questions, we were, once again assured of the sufficiency of God’s Word. It seemed as though when our loved ones asked these questions, they were expecting a response that included signs, wonders or dreams. And, although God can most certainly do whatever He chooses, it remains clear to us today that He speaks through His Word and the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, just as we could not “pin-point” a place in Scripture that said, “Go to China!” so we could not find a place that said, “Now, go to Ethiopia!”

What we realize, however, is that God has sufficiently revealed His will to us in the Word of God; and where His Word is silent, we are free to act (so long as our actions do not contradict His revealed Word). This concept of our freedom in Christ is something that a friend of ours impressed upon our hearts several years ago, and it is now a principle that we live by. In other words, God has said, “I love adoption, I love the nations, you are free to act accordingly.”

God has told us to care for the widows and orphans. How we chose to fulfill this command is within the realm of our Christian liberty; however, we have chosen to fulfill it through adoption. Some Christians volunteer at Nursing Homes. Others given money to international orphanages. Still others participate in short-term mission trips in order to work with the fatherless and the widowed. Each of these examples certainly fulfills the commands of the Scriptures. However, none of these are explicitly stated in Scripture.

Therefore, as the wait time for international adoption from China kept increasing, we realized that we should at least consider the possibility of changing countries. Then, once we looked into Ethiopian adoption, we fell in love with the people of this ancient land.

We are very well aware of the racial tension and race issues that may surface with our decision to adopt internationally; however, we cannot be swayed by the societal norms that are sadly unbiblical. We must follow the calling upon our lives and be obedient to our Lord and Savior even though we know we might face storms that rage ahead of us. We are confident in our Heavenly Father’s guidance who assures us in Deuteronomy 1:30, “The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you....”. All of our children are bathed in prayer and we will teach them the precepts in God’s word, so they will have a strong foundation, a clear understanding that they were created in God’s image and the promise of eternity with Him so long as they follow Him and Him alone. The Lord calls us to follow Him, but He does not say we will not endure hardships. “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12) Interestingly enough, I came across an old African proverb that so perfectly states:

“Smooth seas do not make skilled sailors”

We have certainly not “abandoned” China as some have suggested. However, we realize that given the changes in circumstances, China was no longer a feasible option for us. It is possible that we may return to adopt from China some time in the future, but as of now, we are confident that God is pleased, and will be ultimately glorified, in our decision to adopt from Ethiopia.

Why We Are Adopting-Part 4 & 5

4. Adoption involves great sacrifice.

This next reason that we have for adopting is one that we would not originally have put down. However, given our experience through these many months, this truth has become a reality in our lives. Simply put, adoption involves sacrifice.

We are not wealthy people. In fact, in order to finance this call on our lives, Brad has had to work multiple jobs. However, as difficult as this has been, it has given us, yet again, further insight into our own salvation and adoption by God our Father.

When mankind fell, God did not simply wave some cosmic ‘magic wand’ and declare us righteous. If He had done that [a hypothetical impossibility], He would have violated His own divine justice. In other words, His justice and wrath had to be satisfied. Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ took up our sins, as our representative, and suffered the eternal, infinite wrath of the Father in our place! In short, our adoption as children of God required a sacrifice of absolute perfection! There could have been no greater sacrifice.

5. International adoption reveals the glory of God.

Our final reason for adopting internationally involves our desire to reflect the glory of God, not only in our individual lives, but in our family. In a recent broadcast of the Albert Mohler Radio Program, Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary asks the question concerning transracial adoption – Is it nothing more than a form of cultural imperialism and institutional racism? This is, no doubt, a question that many have thought of, yet, few will actually admit. I, myself, have often feared that our decision to adopt trans-racially would be received and taken by some as an extension of a ‘white man’s burden’…a desire to impose our ‘superior’ white culture on ‘inferior’ and ‘primitive’ African children. Yet, this could not be further from reality. After a great deal of self-reflection I can honestly say that our desire and decision to adopt internationally was born out of a desire to reflect the glory of Almighty God in our lives and in our home.

Over the past several years, I have begun to realize the profound implications of the truth of the doctrine of the Trinity. This may seem a rather strange statement to make in the context of international adoption; however, I feel it is hugely applicable. The Apostle Paul is quite clear in the first chapter of his Epistle to the Romans that ‘since the creation of the world His [God’s] invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made…’ [Romans 1:20]. One such aspect of God’s divine nature is that He is Trinity. As Dr. James White, in his book, The Forgotten Trinity, states, ‘Within the One Being which is God, there exists three coequal, coeternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.’ Therefore, God’s nature is both unity [His divine nature or essence] and diversity [three distinct, coequal, coeternal Persons]. Thus, it should surprise no one that in God’s creation we observe both unity and diversity. In fact, if we are to reflect God’s glory [which is certainly a biblical pursuit], then we, too, should reflect in our lives and in our relationships, an understanding of both unity and diversity.

Why We Are Adopting-Part 3

3. Adoption exists as a powerful picture of our own salvation.

The next reason why we have chosen to adopt from Ethiopia is that adoption exists as a picture of salvation. The truth fills the pages of the New Testament. Author and theologian Robert Reymond writes, ‘Throughout the New Testament, the concept of adoption is ever-present. The writers of the New Testament often used words such as ‘son’ [2 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 3:26; 4:6-7; Hebrews 2:10; 12:5-8; Revelation 21:7], ‘child’ [John 1:12; 11:52; 1 John 3:1, 10; 5:2; Romans 8:16, 21; 9:8; Ephesians 5:1; Philippians 2:15], ‘little child’ [Hebrews 2:13-14] and ‘sonship’ [Romans 18:15, 23; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5; Romans 9:4] to demonstrate the change in relationship with the Father that we experience on the basis of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, the Westminster Larger Catechism [answer to Question 74] addresses the question of our own adoption as children of God, stating, ‘Adoption is an act of the free grace of God, in and for his only Son Jesus Christ, whereby all those that are justified are received into the number of his children, have his name put upon them, the Spirit of his Son given to them, are under his fatherly care and dispensations, admitted to all the liberties and privileges of the sons of God, made heirs of all the promises, and fellow-heirs with Christ in glory.’

In other words, as the New Testament writers so clearly state, our adoption as children of God involves:

• His choosing of us in Christ because of His gracious love towards us.
• Our receiving of Father's name (Ephesians 2:19; 3:14-15) and our assurance of His protection and provision as His children
• Our "sealing" by the work of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), and the comfort and hope of knowing that we can never lose our salvation. It is certianly noteworthy that when Paul was writing in the first century, it was Roman law that an adopted child could never be "disowned" as a biological child could. No doubt this was part of the reason Paul appropriated the concept of adoption with our salvation.
• The hope and joy of our future inheritance and blessing in Christ as co-heirs with Him (Romans 8:17; 1 Peter 1:4-5)

Clearly, each of these four, biblical aspects of our eternal adoption is present in the practice of domestic and international adoption. Consequently, when one then begins to understand the miracle of our eternal adoption by our Heavenly Father, then the picture of ‘earthly’ adoption gains a new, far richer, and more beautiful dimension.

Why We Are Adopting-Part 2

2. God loves the nations.
The second reason that we have chosen to adopt, specifically internationally, is because of God’s revealed love for the nations. As far back as Genesis, God reveals His plan to bless every nation through the descendants of Abraham [Genesis 12:1-3]. In Psalm 2, the psalmist, speaking of the ‘inheritance’ of the Son of the LORD, writes: ‘I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.’ Also, in Psalm 22:27, we read, ‘All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will worship before You.’

I am currently in the process of preaching through the Book of Acts, and two truths that God continually reveals in this book are: (1.) every individual, regardless of race, is a sinner in desperate need of a Savior; and (2.) the Gospel is, indeed, the universal power of God for salvation, for all who believe. The Jewish leadership of the first century, particularly the Pharisees, held to a tradition and a conviction that God in some way favored the Hebrew race above all others in the world. This primitive form of racism; however, could never be supported biblically. Further, it reflected a belief, on the part of the Jews, that there was something ethnically inherent to the Jewish people that God in some way ‘preferred’ over the Gentile nations. At its root, this type of racial exclusivity demonstrated that the Jews believed they were in some way more ‘like God’ than all other nations.

However, YHWH our God is fundamentally different than everyone and everything. He is the eternal, infinite and transcendent Creator who created ex nihilo, out of nothing. He is the uncaused Cause, the unmoved Mover. There was never a time when He was not, and there will never be a time when He ceases to exist. He is in need of nothing. In fact, God had no compelling need to create. He was fully self-sufficient from all eternity. In his classic work, Desiring God, John Piper rightly asserts, ‘Within the triune Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), God has been uppermost in His own affections for all eternity. Therefore, God has been supremely happy in the fellowship of the Trinity.’ Thus, God is essentially [in His essence] unlike anyone or anything.

For this reason, no man, no nation, no culture may rightfully claim to have the ‘inside track’ with God [It was always God’s plan and will to save Gentiles (see Isaiah 49:6)]. No individual or group of people, to include ethnic Jews, is any more God-like than the rest. This was, indeed, the point the Apostle Paul was making in the first three chapters of his Epistle to Romans. This section culminates in the great passage in Romans 3:

But now apart from the Law of righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for their is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Commenting on this passage, Douglas Moo writes,
'[Paul's] 'no distinction,' as we would expect, has to do with the absence of any basic difference among people with respect to their standing before God. Jews may have the law and circumcision; Americans may lay claim toa great religious heritage; 'good' people may point to the works of charity; but all this makes no essential difference to one's standing before a righteous and hold God....Paul, then, is indicating that all people fail to exhibit that 'being-like-God' for which they were created.....'

Therefore, regardless of culture or ethnicity, an impassable gulf separates us from God. It is a chasm that no man, regardless of how ‘righteous’ his is, could ever even begin to cross. Yet, it is not until one understands this infinite gap that separates sinful man from the one true, living, and holy God, that he or she can even begin to grasp the unfathomable miracle revealed through our adoption into God’s family. We are finite and sinful…God is infinite and holy! No degree of human effort, regardless of how sincere, could even begin to bridge the gap that separates us from our Creator. Yet, God, who is infinitely rich in divine mercy, chose, in accordance with the council of His own will, to condescend to us, through the Person of Jesus Christ, and save His people. It is through the redemptive work of Christ, and the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit, that God the Father has adopted us as His children. This is, indeed, a miracle of infinite proportions…one that the mind can never fully comprehend.

It is only when we understand the infinite gap that separates us from God that the ‘gap’ separating us from other humans in other races is ultimately put into proper perspective. People often stress to Kimberly and I the great cultural and racial gap that will exist between us and our Ethiopian children. Yet, such concerns ultimately fade completely from our view when considered in light of the infinite, eternal gap that God bridged, through the work of Jesus Christ, in order to reconcile us to Him.

Why We Are Adopting-Part 1

‘Oh, that’s wonderful…So why again are you adopting?’

This seems to be the most common response that we receive each time we tell someone that we are adopting. Then, almost without exception, the next question is, ‘So, why are you adopting from Ethiopia?’ Both of these questions are certainly appropriate; and ones that deserve proper answers. However, it seems that many times when friends and family have asked these questions, they expect an answer like, ‘Well, I was asleep one night and I had a vision of the ancient land of Cush, and the Lord spoke to me saying, ‘Go!...’

However, no such vision has ever occurred. In fact, we have had no ‘supernatural…super-spiritual’ experience which has in some way served as our ‘call’ to adopt from Ethiopia. Rather, through prayer and reading of the Scriptures, Kimberly and I are convinced that our LORD has called us to pursue international adoption in the county of Ethiopia. Although there are many reasons why we are confident in our call to adopt from Ethiopia, there are at least five that that are clearly and sufficiently revealed throughout the Scriptures, and worthy of further exploration.

1. The Scriptures command all Christians to care for widows and orphans.

The first, and, perhaps, the most scriptural reason we have to support our decision to adopt is the biblical command to care for widows and orphans. James 1:27 states, ‘Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress…’ Yet, this truth, of protecting the fatherless and the widow, is present throughout the Scriptures. Even in Deuteronomy, Moses speaks of ‘the orphan and the widow who are in your town’ being allowed to come and eat and being satisfied, ‘in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do’ [Deuteronomy 14:29]. Later in Psalms [146:9] and Isaiah [1:17; 23], the LORD reiterates this sentiment, speaking through the prophet Isaiah, stating, ‘Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow’ [Isaiah 1:17].

Most certainly this biblical command to care for widows and orphans finds its rooting in the biblical principle that we are to care for those who cannot care for themselves. This principle also holds true in our own salvation. God saved us when we could not save ourselves. In his nighttime meeting with Nicodemus, Jesus tells the Pharisee, ‘…unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ The Greek root of the word translated cannot is the word dunamis, meaning ‘power or ability.’ In other words, Christ was saying that, ‘unless one is born again, by the sovereign, gracious power of almighty God, he does not have the ability to see the kingdom of God.’ Therefore, we, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ were once no different than the widows and fatherless. Moreover, were it not for the gracious, lovingkindness of our Heavenly Father, who chose us to be His children through adoption as ‘sons’ in Christ, we would have remained fatherless, dead in our sins, and rightfully condemned for eternity.