Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Adoption and Money - part 1

Yep, sorry for the boring title!

The topic of adoption and money go hand in hand, just like tomatoes and basil (it's summer people, I'm in the garden, what did you expect?)

There is so much information and so many questions regarding this topic. I'd like to take this information and put it into a four part series. 

Why does Adoption cost so much? 

What does it really cost to adopt and why?

Why should I support someone who is adopting?

I can't adopt because I can't afford to.

Why does Adoption cost so much? Most people would read this and think I was going to detail out all the work involved in adoptions like the agency costs, travel and international fees. Don't worry, that is for the next post! 

There is an aspect to the high cost involved in adoptions that both Kenney and I did not really look at until recently. It's probably one of the most overlooked aspects, but most important.The cost of OUR adoption into God's family.

John Piper has a wonderful sermon that lays out eight similarities to God adopting us, and us adopting children. I've copied one reason below, however if you'd like to read the entire sermon you can click here. (I would encourage you to read this it is AWESOME!)

1. Adoption was (for God) and is (for us) costly.

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)
To redeem means to obtain or to set free by paying a price. What was the price that God paid for our liberation and adoption? In the previous chapter, we heard the answer: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13).
It cost God the price of his Son’s life.
There are huge costs in adopting children. Some are financial; some are emotional. There are costs in time and stress for the rest of your life. You never stop being a parent till you die. And the stresses of caring about adult children can be as great, or greater, than the stresses of caring for young children. There is something very deep and right about embracing this cost for the life of a child!
Few things bring me more satisfaction than seeing a culture of adoption flourish at Bethlehem (our church). It means that our people are looking to their heavenly Father for their joy rather than rejecting the stress and cost of children in order to maximize their freedom and comforts.  Praise God for people ready to embrace the suffering—known and unknown. God’s cost to adopt us was infinitely greater than any cost we will endure in adopting and raising children.

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