Last Sunday was our middle granddaughter’s “Gotcha Day.” It is the day that her sweet little life– just five days old, with fresh wrinkles and fuzzy hair– was placed in the arms of our daughter and son-in-law for the first time. It marked the beginning of a year-and-a-half long journey of uncertainty, while social workers, attorneys, and judges worked to advocate for her well-being. The day that broke a biological family. The day that laid a foundation for life in an adoptive family. A day filled with both gut-wrenching sorrow and heart-felt joy.
What was meant to be a one-night, emergency placement has turned into 1,830 sleeps. And though all of those nights have not all been joyfully peaceful, they have been covered in prayer, washed with tears, and filled with love and lots of laughter. With a new name and a forever family, our precious grandchild has been lovingly grafted into a legacy where she is cherished and chosen. This adoption journey has given us a glimpse into Romans 8:15 that assures that those who are led by the Spirit of God have “received the Spirit of adoption.”
As providence would have it, our message on this Gotcha Day was on this very passage. Our pastor opened with a story by Destiny Twohill, a young woman who was adopted from China over 25 years ago. In her poignant story on Lifesong.org entitled, “Being Seen Saved My Life: My Adoption Story,” she shares the heartbreaking account of how her life nearly ended after she was found hypothermic on the steps of the poor orphanage in her town and placed in isolation to die. Miraculously, the director found her and noticed features of the Ming Dynasty in her face. She lovingly moved this baby with the “face of the king” to the room where she would receive the care that would save her life.
Destiny goes on to share her adoptive parents’ disappointment when they received the packet from the adoption agency containing only her photograph. The Twohills had hoped to adopt twins. Disheartened, they went to sleep before giving the agency an answer about whether they would adopt this child or wait for twins. That night, Mr. Twohill dreamed of a little girl named Destiny who had shared a testimony at his church months before. When he woke and told his wife about the dream, she picked up the picture of this precious girl with fuzzy black hair and almond shaped eyes and declared, “Destiny Joy Twohill. Let’s go get my baby!”
The story continues, filled with gratitude– to her birth mother for not aborting her, to her adoptive parents for choosing her, and most of all, to her Heavenly Father for His Grace. Destiny says, “This story could have ended the day I was born, but God has seen me from the first day all the way to being here today.” This is one reason why, according to Destiny, adoption helps us understand the depth of God’s love and care for us. The apostle Paul believed this to be true as well, which is why he uses the metaphor at least 5 different times throughout scripture.
Building on this, my pastor added to Destiny’s story a list of “I” words that he borrowed from Tim Keller describing the richness of being adopted into God’s family. He said, “Being adopted into God’s family through Christ gives us a new identity, a new intimacy, and a new inheritance that is waiting for us.” He explained that in this Roman-ruled culture, the metaphor of sonship leading to a spirit of adoption in Romans 8:14-15 would have been partially understood. Historically, adoption was reserved for wealthy families in need of a son to pass their wealth to. The adopted son would immediately take on the father’s name and the father would become instantly liable for the son’s actions.
The new identity as “God’s Son”, like the legally binding adoption in Roman times, is a permanent name– dependable and securing our place in His family. The intimacy is the real knowledge of God’s person. Verse 15 in The Message paraphrase says that we can greet God “with a childlike ‘What’s next, Papa?’ God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children.” I love the image this creates. It’s like a child running to his daddy, arms opened wide, with spontaneity and confidence. The inheritance is a sharing in a future glory with Jesus that will far outweigh the suffering in this world.
In the same way that Destiny was seen and saved because someone recognized her worth, we too are seen by our Abba Father– not for what we’ve done, but for who we are in Jesus. Adoption into God’s family gives us a new name, a new identity, and a place in His eternal legacy. And just like Destiny, each of us carries the image of the King, chosen not by chance, but by Grace, to be heirs of His glory.
