The Why of Adoption

Since Emily and I announced the exciting news that we are adopting, we have received lots of questions. The most repeated word in all of those questions is why. Whether it's why adopt, why adopt local, or why adopt now, these are the big questions that have come our way. I wanted to take a little bit of time and give an answer as we step into this process.

I'll start off answering the question of why adopt. In John 14:18, Jesus states "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." Jesus is promising His faithfulness to His followers in saying that the Holy Spirit is soon to follow. Our world is full of our own children who need followers of Christ to be faithful and come to them. James 1:27 tells us "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." James is finishing up a passage about how living out Scripture is more important than just hearing Scripture. The culmination of that whole passage is the application that visiting/taking care of orphans and widows is very important, as well as keeping ourselves pure from the world. Scripture is pretty clear that we as Christians need to be involved in taking care of orphans. Emily and I have always had the desire to adopt because of the great need, but more than that, we want to act out of obedience to the Lord in His desire to see that these great needs are met.

Another big question we get is what kind of adoption we are doing, and why we chose to adopt local instead of internationally. For us this is a really important question. We love adoptions of all kinds, but really wanted to have the opportunity to make a difference locally. One passage of Scripture really stands out for us in this. In Jeremiah 29, God is speaking to His people that have been exiled into Babylon. It's not a completely ideal situation for them, but God wants them to make the best of it for His glory. He tells them to marry the locals, plant gardens, have kids, and build houses. He wants them to settle down and be good neighbors that make a difference. Then he finishes up in verse seven with a word that has been very important to our lives lately: "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." In the welfare of the city, you will find your welfare. Through adoption, we want to be able to make a difference in the life of our city, even starting with just one child. We want the life of one child who has little hope to be given the opportunity to have great hope in Christ.

The last question to answer is the question of why adopt now. We both knew this would happen eventually, and we have been waiting on God's timing for leadership in this. Through many different circumstances, people, and closing other doors, we feel confident that this is the time that God has for us to begin this process. We are beyond excited and praying for the Lord's leadership as we move forward. While it is easy to be selfish in this because we will gain a child that we desire, we are praying that our hearts will be focused on God's call to be a family for a child that needs one. Please pray that we stay obedient to God in the process, and that we take every moment of the process for God's glory!

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