There are some teachings in the bible that does not naturally touch my heart. One of these teachings is adoption- that Christians are adopted as sons of God because of Christ's sacrifice. It probably does not touch my heart because I have not experienced being an orphan. Also, for a variety of reasons, being part of a family was not a big deal.

     I remember the first time I appreciated this doctrine. One day at my work, one of the kids made a statement that stuck to my mind. He said, "if this staff member really cares for me, then she would adopt me." 

    At first, I thought I would respond by making an excuse for the staff member not being able to adopt him. However, as I think about it, I realized that a residential facility could never be a home. Staff come and go into the life of the kids. Staff's life is not tied to the child's life.

     In a family, the life of the parents who have committed their life to the child is bound with the life of the child. When a child is sick, the parent would sometimes stay near the child for a whole night. This kind of committment is what this child was looking for, and staff members could never provide that committment. What this child needs is a family that would bind their life to his life. That is his deepest desire.

     All of us sometimes feel alone. We need someone who is committed to us in the midst of sin, disappointments, and finally death. We need someone who will bind his life to our life. Ultimately, the death of Jesus, God's son, is the expression of God's binding his life to the life of the believer. As one song says "I'm forgiven, because you were forsken". 

     May you find comfort in God's binding his life to your life, a truth expressed in the word adoption. As Christians, may we reflect in our committment to others, the committment of our God who adopts us into his family.

     One day, my daughter and I were putting together her train tracks. She would hand me pieces of the train tracks and I help her put it together. I realized that the overall shape of the train tracks was dependent on what pieces she gives me.

     Some of us struggle with regrets. I regret sometimes that I was not born in an evangelical Christian family that values Christian ministry (missions, evangelism, etc.). That piece of my story has a profound effect on who I am today. One effect of that piece is that, while I wanted to dedicate my life to ministry, there is a part of me that wants to please my parents by having a stable life and better yet, having material prosperity. I hate to admit it, but I was looking for a comfortable ministry. Well, those two (being upper-middle class and being in ministry) do not usually mix. For one thing, depending on money from supporters makes life unstable.   

     As my daughter and I continue to build her train tracks together, I noticed that the train tracks came along nicely anyway. In the end, we have a decent train track.

    Sometimes we fear that because some pieces of our lives do not seem to fit with our vision of our future, that our lives are not what it could be. It is true that life may not look the way we want it to look. We may not become what we dreamed we would be. However, if you do the right things in God's eyes, your life is making a difference for God's purposes.

     The apostle Paul writes, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28).  The "things" are the pieces of our lives, some may seem bad and some may seem good. The apostle Paul is saying that God is making all these pieces work together for "good" for those who love him. If you are someone who loves the God who revealed himself in Jesus, trust that all the pieces of your life is working together for the good. It may not be the good you envisioned, but in the great scheme of God's purposes for you and for his world, it would be good.