A Letter to a Foreign Government

“Why do you want to adopt?”  I eagerly wait for the news that adoption legislation is proceeding, but instead, I hear that question.  “Why do you want our children?”

I want to tell why.

I, too, was adopted.  I was separated from the one thing a child needs the most—a Father.  I lived in rebellion.  My sin was literally killing me, and I was slowly dying.

That is when I was adopted.  My Father saw me, wallowing in my own filth, and chose me.  He didn’t just sign papers and pay fees.  He didn’t just make a trip to visit me.  He gave up His life for me.

I was adopted spiritually.  I was an orphan because I had sold myself to sin and wickedness.  I had cut off relationship with God.  I had rebelled against God, Who is my Father and Creator.  My own sin was slowly killing my soul.  Sin would separate me from God for ever.  I was headed to eternal death.

This is not a rare predicament.  We are all spiritual orphans—by choice.  We have allowed sin to rule our souls.  Sin is rebellion to God; it is embracing that which God hates and doing that which He abhors.  Sin is the absence of God's holiness, righteousness, goodness, love, justice, and mercy.  Sin makes us orphans by separating us from God.  And no one is exempt from sin and its fatal consequences.

God is not just my Father, my Creator, or the very Being of Love.  He is also my Rescuer.  Even while I rebelled against Him, He loved me.  He left His glory and His throne.  He came to earth as a man—a human being, just like me.  He identified with me.  He lived on this earth; He knows the trials and sufferings I endure.  But God did not just identify with me; He completely took my place.  Sin requires a punishment, and that punishment is death.  I was going to die for my sin.  Death means eternal separation from God, eternal pain and suffering to the extreme, a full realization of one’s own evil heart, and utter hopelessness.  God is perfect, but He took my sin on Himself and died an agonizing death on a Roman cross.  God died… for me.  Sin was fully satisfied, and I was set free.  God died… for each person on this earth.  For you.

How could God still adopt me if He died in my place?  God is greater than the power of sin and death.  He arose from the dead on the third day after He was slain.  God lives, eternally.  He reigns in Heaven.  And He extends His gift of life, purchased at the cross, to all who turn from their sins and believe in Him.

I have turned from sin.  I believe in my God.  He has cleansed, forgiven, and redeemed me.  When I turned from sin to God, He adopted me as His own precious child.  And though my Father is in Heaven, He has sent His Spirit to live inside me.  The Spirit of God has given me life.  God has no limits; He adopts each one who comes to Him as His child.  He sends His Spirit to dwell in each of His children.  Even while He reveals Himself daily to us on earth, the Holy Spirit is His promise that we will one day be with Him in Heaven.

That is why I want to adopt.  Not because my family wants another child for labor.  Not for horrors I cannot even name.  The very suggestion of such things is like an arrow to my heart.  We do not even want to adopt because we think another child will be a fun addition to the family.

My family knows that adoption is difficult.  We know firsthand how time-consuming it is.  Our bank account bears witness that adoption is not easy.  Bringing a new child into the family is a long adjustment that requires patience, love, and care.  Raising and supporting a child is a lifelong sacrifice of love.

Why, then, would we choose such a route?  Because God has poured His love into us.  We want to adopt because God has shared His heart with us.  He has blessed us abundantly with His life.  And He has also blessed us with a home and resources.  We want to share the blessings and love that God has given us with children who need a family.  This desire is unnatural; no human naturally chooses inconvenience and hardship.  Only heavenly love denies itself for the benefit of others.  Love is from God, because God is Love.

I am one voice in a sea of families longing to adopt.  How many others share my view?  In the United States of America, I have seen God laying a desire for adoption on the hearts of many Christians.  I cannot say that everyone from this country who adopts does so out of self-sacrificing love.  But I can say that my family is not alone in our desire to share our lives and God’s life with these children, for God is at work in many homes throughout America.

How do you explain self-sacrifice in a selfish world?  How do you explain pure compassion that pours out its heart, resources, and time?  How do you explain love that bares its deepest wounds to a harsh, hateful world over and over again?

How do you explain the Gospel?

The Gospel defies human explanation.  It is too big to grasp intellectually.  Logic cannot disclose God’s gain at utterly laying Himself down for mortal rebels.  And when this world sees the Gospel lived out in a human life on earth, it makes no sense.

But it makes perfect sense in Heaven.  We have freely received eternal life, intimate relationship with God, peace that passes understanding, joy that cannot be quenched, unmerited love, and undying hope.  We have entered into the very fullness and life of God.  Now, it is our privilege to sacrificially lay down our lives for others that they, too, may enter into living relationship with God. 

My Father desperately longs for His children… even more than I long for them.

(Note: this is an image from the internet, not a child whom we are adopting.)

Brothers and sisters in Christ who read this, please join me in praying that adoption will not be hindered.  Where God is at work, the enemy will always counter-attack.  Please ask with me that righteousness and unity would abound especially in foreign governments as well as in ours.  Please pray that these already vulnerable children will not be kept from their forever homes by governments struggling to maintain order.  Please pray that God will keep the doors of international adoption wide open.  My God's ears are open to the cry of His children, and His arm is not shortened that it cannot save.  May we not be the hindrance to His mighty working by lack of prayer.

...........................................................................................................

For anyone who comments... please refrain from mentioning specific countries with regard to this post in order to respect governments and protect privacy for families.  You are, of course, welcome to comment!  Thank you.

European Adventure Part Four: Lauterbrunnen

LAUTERBRUNNEN, SWITZERLAND

5.23.15 - 5.25.15

I should probably warn you... there will be a lot more pictures on this post than on the last one.  Because it was the only small town on our trip, Lauterbrunnen valley was my favorite.  (I wasn't going to pick a favorite because they were all so different, but people kept asking... so this is it!)

This was the view from the balcony outside my window.

Now add spring mountain air on a breeze, the soft sounds of cowbells, and you're about there. 

The cows all had cowbells ... and every sheep wore a bell ... and all the goats had bells, too!

I loved the bells.

Staubbach Falls is the "signature" waterfall for Lauterbrunnen valley ...

but only because it is the most prominent of 72!

As you can tell from the picture, Lauterbrunnen is definitely a valley.

The sheer cliffs on either side create the perfect Swiss retreat.

We took a train ride to the mountain Jungfraujoch. 

Although we did not expect the overcrowding at the top,

the views on the way up and from the observation platforms at the top were beautiful.

At the top, one was surrounded by snow-heaped mountains.

Yes, we are above the clouds.  

God blessed us with great views before the clouds enveloped the mountain in early afternoon.

Caroline, Mom, me, Dad

Here we are on top of Jungfraujoch!

(Doesn't Dad look like a Swiss mountain guide in his bright coat?)

There was just one chapel in Lauterbrunnen, visible from the opposite side of our hotel balcony.

Lauterbrunnen had the most beautiful cemetery I've ever seen.

Each headstone had its own flower plot, and every one was meticulously well-kept.

There was even a little station with tools for gardening.

More than aesthetics, the cemetery had a serene feel, as if the presence of the Lord was there.

Me, Caroline, Mom, and Dad at the top tram station.

We took a tram from Lauterbrunnen up the mountainside ledge to Grütschalp

to start our loop hike in the Alps foothills.

It. Was. Perfect.

This was part of the path we walked.

The views into the valley were beautiful, too.  (Can you see the buildings?)

Swiss people decorate every available ledge.  It's lovely.
This was from a building in Mürren, the town at the end of the upper ledge on our hike.

Our tram back to Gimmelwald swung over the ledge ... to this view.

Notice the parachutes in the field behind me.  We watched at least half a dozen land.

All at once, the sun broke through the overcast afternoon onto the falls.

We followed a path alongside the stream much of the way back.

It was about 3 miles through scenery like this to get back to our hotel.

I found another example of Swiss decor on our walk.

This was one of the two main roads through the valley.

It was so hard to say goodbye to Lauterbrunnen.
While it reminded me of my Appalachian mountains, it had its own distinctive feel.
I am immensely grateful for the two days we spent here!