Twice Adopted

Read: Galatians 4:4-7

Morgan never got tired of hearing what happened when her parents took her home from the adoption agency. “You were only six weeks old,” her dad told her one evening when she begged to hear the story again. “I’ll never forget when the agency called to say they had a baby for us. I was at work, and I was so excited I forgot to ask if it was a boy or a girl.” Everyone laughed as they recalled the happy event.

Mom continued the story. “The ride home was a long one, and they sent a bottle along with us so we could feed you on the way home. But you kept falling asleep when you were supposed to be drinking your bottle.”

Morgan giggled. “So Dad kept blowing the horn to try to keep me awake, right?”

“Yes, I did,” Dad said with a grin. “I guess that was kind of silly.”

“And so you adopted me,” said Morgan. “What does the word adopt mean again?”

“It means to take something as one’s own,” said Mom. “In the case of parents and children, it means to voluntarily take a child of other parents as one’s own child.” Mom gave Morgan a hug. “We gladly took you as our own. We’re so thankful the Lord brought us together.”

“I am too,” said Morgan.

“You know, Morgan,” Dad said, “the Bible talks about adoption. God wants to adopt us into His family. The Bible says that when we trust in God’s Son, Jesus, God accepts us as His own children.”

“That’s right, and being adopted into God’s family is even more wonderful than being adopted into our family,” said Mom. “We become God’s children and heirs—we inherit the gift of eternal life that Jesus earned for us by dying for our sins.”

“Then I’ve been adopted twice,” Morgan said. “I was adopted into your family when I was a baby, and I was adopted into God’s family when I trusted in Jesus. Now I belong to you, and I belong to God.” She grinned. “I love being adopted!”

–Charles VanderMeer

How about you? Have you been adopted into God’s family? Even if you have a wonderful family here on earth, God wants you to become part of His family too. You can only become a child and heir of God by trusting Jesus as your Savior. What could be more wonderful than that? Become God’s child today! (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today’s key verse: To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 (NLT)

Today’s key thought: God wants to adopt you