Adopted

            With tears running down his cheeks and uncontrollable sobs shaking him to his core, the missionary stumbled through the stench-filled alley, stepping over the rubbish and debris, holding out his hands to either side of him as he prayed for the impoverished children huddled up under newspapers between the cans of trash.

            “Oh Lord, what can I do to help these children? There is no more room in the orphanage and I can’t take them all home with me. I can only afford to take one or maybe two at the most.”

            And then it came to him, a small whisper within his heart that must have come from God, “Take the one who calls out to you; I will take care of the rest.”          

            Within seconds, one of the children looked out from under the trash he was using as a blanket, and looked right at the missionary with imploring eyes, and said, “Please, mister, I don’t think I can make it another night out here in the cold.”

            The missionary stopped, helped the boy to his feet, and told him, “Come on, son, we are going home.”        

            From that day forward the boy was no longer an orphan out in the cold but was instead the son of the missionary. He no longer lived in the streets but had a nice warm home with plenty of food, people who loved him, and everything he needed. And as for the rest of the orphans, the missionary spread the word and many others were adopted as well.  

            To many of us, this story is hard to believe or relate to since we live in a land of plenty where most of us have homes and plenty to eat. But there are many impoverished children in the world and organizations like Compassion International do a good job of reaching out and caring for them; they are worthy of your support.

            All of us, though, whether rich or poor by worldly standards, are like those orphans in the alley – left to our own abilities and devices, we are spiritually impoverished, dressed in rags, stuck out in the cold huddling under the trash of unforgiveness, hatred, lust, greed, selfishness, and all the rest.

            We must look out from under all that crap and lift our eyes to the Missionary – Jesus – who is able to reach down and lift up all who call upon Him. He looks upon the orphan who calls out to Him, saying, “Come on, son, let’s go home. Come with me, daughter, and you will live with Me forever. The garbage you have been living under will be a thing of the past; from now on you will live with Me in my Father’s mansion. We have many rooms and you will be well-provided for.”

            The Father is speaking to many of you right now as you read this. He is looking to see if you will lift your eyes to Him and call out for His help. He wants to make you His son or daughter. In fact, He has already made a way for that to happen through the cross of Jesus. Because Jesus died for your sins, all you have to do is call out to Him, recognizing that He died for your sins and rose again from the dead and even now is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you and waiting for you to call out to Him.

            Many of us have already made that decision and called out to God; we are included in Christ so we know that we have been adopted as His children. We know what it was like to live without Christ in our lives – we know the cold chill of spiritual poverty, of living under the trash heap of sin and selfishness. And we know how much better it is to live in Christ, in our Father’s house, where there is love, joy, peace, and every spiritual blessing that Christ brings into our lives.

            So wherever you are at today, whether you just now called out to God, or have been living in His house for a long time, or are still just thinking about it, pray now and talk to God and either ask Him to be your Father or thank Him for being your Father, whichever seems appropriate to you. And if He adopted you a long time ago but you haven’t been living in His House – maybe you have been distracted by the world, carried away by temptations, or hurt by other people – whatever has become between you and God, talk to Him about it and get right with Him.

            In my Father’s house there are many rooms, and He has one with your name on it.

Let’s Pray Together: Father God, thank you that I can call you Father. Thank you that through Jesus I am adopted as your child, delivered from living out in the cold under the trash heap of my past and brought into Your house of love, mercy, and grace. Thank you that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead so that I can have a new life as Your child. Help me to live for you in Christ, in that place of being connected to You, breathing in Your life, living in Your house. Help me to turn away from sinful desires that war against my soul and turn to You again and again and again. Fill me with Your love, Your joy, Your peace, and help me live for You in these situations that I bring before You now… (continue praying as you feel led)

           

Scriptures to Study: Ephesians 1:3-6, John 14:1-6, Galatians 4:1-7

This devotional is authored and published by Randy Brockett. All publishing rights are reserved but readers are encouraged to repost (please include this copyright info) or share his insights with their family, friends, and congregations. For other devotionals by Randy, see http://www.blesseddisciples.com, http://www.dwellinchrist.com, and http://www.discoverbiblicalchurch.com.