Adopted

As most of you know, our fourth daughter, Anna, is adopted. Now she is legally entitled to an equal share of any inheritance Jill and I might leave behind. But even more important, we claim her as our own…there is no difference in our eyes between Anna and any of our natural children. When we come to Christ, God not only forgives us, he also adopts us. We go from condemned orphans with no hope to adopted children with no fear. It’s really remarkable…we come before the throne of grace, rebellious and sinful. Because of God’s justice he cannot dismiss our sin, but because of God’s love he cannot dismiss us. Then, in an act that stunned all of creation, God punished himself on the cross for our sins. God’s justice and love are equally honored, and we are forgiven! Still, that is not the end; it would be enough had God simply cleansed us, but he does more. We have been adopted, given God’s name: because of Jesus, we are now children of God!