I was reading a friend's blog and saw a link to CJ Mahaney's blog and right now he is on part 6 of a series entitled:Adopted! CJ Mahaney and his family are very much loved in our family so anything by him is worth reading...and to have it be the subject of adoption just made my fingers fly even faster to read what he wrote.
One thing that I desire to do more and more as I share about adoption is to exalt GOD'S ADOPTION OF US FIRST AND FOREMOST. Our adoption is only truly beautiful because it is the overflow of God's adoption of us. If not for God's work of grace in our own lives, our adoption would be nothing more than just a "good deed" a "wonderful thing"...it would be void of the very ONE Who enables us to do anything good at all, because He prepared for us to do good before the world began(Ephesians 2:10)!
SIDE NOTE:Sharing this with you right now is much easier than sharing it with a stranger who I happen to meet who then happens to comment on what a great thing WE have done...my heart cry's out, "It's not US...it's Christ IN us", and I continue to wrestle with how best to point them to my glorious adopted Father! For now I have settled with sharing, "Thank you so much...it's such a beautiful thing to be saved by God and adopted into His family...we are thrilled to be able to do the same in a physical sense." And, sometimes, I just answer, "Thank you...they are gift's from God." Even as I write, I sit in frustration at not having the perfect words to simply describe all that our adoption means to us (any thoughts from any of you out there?!!!!)
Okay...back to the main point....that is what I so very much appreciate about CJ's posts...he shows us the beauty of our adoption into God's family...and that is where all human adoption should begin...with an understanding of what it truly means to be adopted. And Who better to tell us what adoption means than the One who invented adoption...GOD HIMSELF!!!! He also shared some AMAZING quotes (yes...I continue to be a "quotes gal")that just blessed my socks off! I'll leave you with this quote by J I Packer and with a link so you can read all this great stuff for yourself!:)
"To be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater."
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Blog/category/Adoption.aspx
(make sure you scroll down and start at part 1!)
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