Patty and I were so excited to go spend a few days with Caleb and Lauren to meet our beautiful new granddaughter, Nora Rose Mason. Little Nora is so precious. She arrived earlier than expected, weighing just over 4 lbs. She has a full head of hair, very alert eyes, and is steadily growing. We are so thrilled to have her, and love her deeply already.
It’s such a joy to watch Caleb and Lauren with her. That little girl has completely captivated them, heart and soul. As you understand with adoption, they have joyfully taken the full rights and responsibilities of parenthood for Nora. Nora doesn’t know or understand any of it—but she has been chosen to be irrevocably and completely loved. It’s a wonderful and emotional period for all of us.
This amazing and wonderful experience with our little Nora has caused me to think so much about how blessed we are as believers to be adopted into God’s family. "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure" (Ephesians 1:5 NLT).
Adoption into the family of God is a foundational Christian doctrine where, through faith in Jesus Christ, believers are mercifully and graciously legally placed in God’s family as His very own children. The Bible tells us that this means we receive full rights as co-heirs with Christ. This spiritual adoption is witness to a change in status from spiritual slavery or alienation from God to being adopted, loved, and redeemed members of God's household. Just as Nora doesn’t yet understand the significance of the great change that has happened in her life, we don’t quickly understand all that God has done either.
So, to adopt someone is to make that person a true and legal son or daughter. Adoption is one of the major metaphors used in the Bible to explain how Christians are brought into the family of God. Jesus came “that we might receive adoption to sonship” (Galatians 4:5 NIV), and He was successful: “You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children” (Romans 8:15 NLT).
Adoption was not common in the Jewish world. A person’s standing in that culture was based on birth. This is the reason that if a man died, his brother was supposed to marry his surviving widow. The law stated that the first son to be born of the new marriage would consider the son of the dead brother in order that his family line and name would continue. On the other hand, there was never a possibility the widow could adopt a son to carry on the family name. In John 3, Jesus explained to Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, and used the concept of being born again (or born from above) to explain spiritually how one is brought into God’s family.
In the Roman world, however, adoption was a significant and common practice. Today, we can write a will and leave our wealth and property to anyone we choose, male or female. In the Roman world, with few exceptions, a man had to pass his wealth on to his son or sons. If a man did not have sons or if he felt that his sons were incapable or unworthy of managing his wealth, he would have to adopt someone who he believed would make a worthy son. These adoptions were not infant adoptions, as we commonly see today. Older boys and adult men were normally adopted. In some cases, the adoptee might even be older than the man who was adopting him. When the adoption was legally approved, the adoptee would have all his debts cancelled and he would receive a new name. He would be the legal son of his adoptive father and entitled to all the rights and benefits of a son. A father could disown his natural-born son, but an adoption was irreversible.
That’s what has happened for Nora. She has been totally absorbed and brought into her new family with all the rights and privileges of being the child of Caleb and Lauren Mason. The debts of her birth are paid; she has the Mason name as well as a carefully and prayerfully chosen name of her very own. She belongs forever.
All of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ have that joyful position as well. We are called children of God, and 1 John 3:1 says, “And that is what we are!” God has lavished His love on us and made us His very own.