Watching and Waiting

This Advent season has been one of the most personally honest ones that I have experienced.  Honest in that I haven't just thought, "Oh yeah, it's Advent. Watching and waiting for Christ's return. Yep, that'll be awesome....after I finish school...after I get married...after I have babies...after I experience life and all the things I want...after He calls me Home to heaven - yeah, then it'll be great."

Looking back over the past year, there have been so many times when my heart ached and clung to that promise.  My Savior is coming back!  He is going to redeem the world and rule and reign with justice!  There will be no more sin, no more pain, no more junk!  My eyes have been blown open to the realities of this world more in this past year than ever in my lifetime. 

I have seen poverty. 

I have seen desperation. 

I have seen I have seen people hurting.  Daily.  Every SECOND of the day. 

I've seen hopelessness. 

I've been working in foster care...if that doesn't scream to your soul the world's need for the Savior, I don't know what will.  I have children as clients who are quite aware of the extent of the evil in man.  Even this week in my hometown, something horrific happened that left two children without a father or a mother and countless people grieving.

I have seen fear.

And for those who don't know Christ as their Redeemer, there is plenty reason to fear.  This world is but a tiny muted taste of what eternity in hell without Christ will be like.  How could anyone want that?  Especially when Christ offers so much more!

Although my heart breaks and at times I am weary, I have no fear.  If you belong to Christ, fear is not for you! 

Isaiah 43:1 "But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine."

Psalm 118:5-6  "Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

I am more certain than ever that this world is not my home.  My home and my comfort is in Christ.  I watch and watch eagerly for His return. Advent. He is coming! =)

The Message version of Romans 8:18-28 provides an interesting perspective:

¹⁸That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. ¹⁹The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. ²⁰Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in ²¹until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

²²All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. ²³These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. ²⁴That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. ²⁵But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

²⁶Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. ²⁷He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. ²⁸That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

Watching and waiting, my friends.  And in my waiting, may God be glorified.

-t

The Theology of Adoption

***Disclaimer:    

I am not a great theologian. 

I do not claim to have it all "figured out".

In fact, I am currently wading through what God says about adoption, what junk my head and heart believes that I am having to face and re-examine, and what that means for me - as a believer and as an individual. 

The following is an brief overview of teachings of individuals that I admire as well as my personal thoughts....not only that, but most importantly the Word. I only ask that you prayerfully consider the theology of adoption for the glory of God and the joy of the orphan.***
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To echo Mr. John Piper - "Adoption is at the heart of the Gospel."  But don't take his (or my) word on it...let's see what The Word says.

"Even as he chose in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace."  Ephesians 1:4-7


"They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises....This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring." Romans 9:4-8

"But 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. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." Galations 4:4-7

"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" Romans 8:15

"And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." Romans 8:23

If you have have experienced salvation...the acknowledgment you have sin in your life that creates a separation from God that can only be bridged by death, that Christ took the penalty for your sin by offering up His perfection and dying on the cross, and having recognized His love that drew Him to the cross is directed at you by accepting his gift and asking Him to be the leader and forgiver of your life...YOU have been adopted!

You cannot separate evangelism and the Gospel from the plight of the orphan. It is one of the greatest pictures we have of our salvation.

Why is God so passionate about the fatherless? (Exodus 22:22, Deut. 10:18, Deut 14:29, Deut. 26:12, Ps. 68:5, Ps. 82:3, Ps. 146:9, Is. 1:17, James 1:27)

The most recent statistics say that there are 163 Million orphans in the world.  The global orphan crisis is one of the greatest barriers to seeing the Great Commission fulfilled in our lifetime.

Why?

Your relationship/experience with your earthly father strongly colors the way you view your heavenly Father.  What does it say to a child's heart when he has no earthly father?

We need a movement of the Holy Spirit in the Church to change the plight of the orphan and see the fatherless find a home in Christ.
 

 "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:8

The Love Chapter - 1 Corinthians 13

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." James 1:27


*I'm not sure how fluid my thoughts are today - still processing a lot. I hope this at least pricks your heart and causes you to seek the heart of God on behalf of the orphan and the idea of adoption.*

 
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Some great resources that more eloquently and thoroughly discuss the theology of adoption:

John Piper has a great message on the theology of adoption you can check out here: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/resources/adoption-the-heart-of-the-gospel

"Adoption Within the Story of Redemption" Dan Cruver

Book recommendation: "Adopted For Life" by Russell Moore

There are also a few organizations/resources you can access on my sidebar!