
Adoption: Not a Justice Cause But a Spiritual Reality

Auditing America's Political Integrity

Stay Sexy or Else? Well, Please Forgive These Mommy Hips

Editor's Note: Megan Hill's recent Her.meneutics post, "Adopting a Kid, Not a Cause," challenged some of the thinking driving the pro-adoption surge among evangelicals. The following is a response from Dennae Pierre, educational coordinator for Together for Adoption, the Reformed group mentioned by Hill in her essay.
As a foster and adoptive mother, I resonated with Megan Hill's thoughts on adoption; I never want my children to think of themselves as a "cause." Still, I found that Hill's post only scratched the surface.
We have children because we want them. That is an easy way to describe the prospect by which people begin to have a family. But is it enough to stop there? As thoughtful Christians, we must ask ourselves, Why do we want children?
The first few pages of the Bible show that procreation is very much a part of God's mission. God entrusted Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and to fill the earth with image-bearers. These image-bearers were to spread the image of God over the face of the earth. Why? Not primarily to meet Eve's instinctual need to nurture a child, although that was a result. It was not primarily to secure Adam's family lineage, although that happened as well. The primary reason was to spread God's name throughout the earth.
From the beginning, there has always been a missional aspect to having children. We certainly don't think God called our first parents to "be fruitful and multiply" so they could "rescue" a few children. This mission was broader, wider, and deeper. Our children, biological or not, are part of the mission God's entrusted to us.
This is a piece of the backdrop that hangs behind the word adoption for us. When Together for Adoption speaks of adoption, we are talking about something specific and distinct. We are not talking primarily about adopting orphans. We do not believe that adoption is primarily about embracing a diverse kingdom or fulfilling our duty to the needy. The word adoption in our organization's name refers to the doctrine of adoption. We believe adoption is all about salvation. In fact, adoption is a wonderful way to describe the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Dan Cruver, the founder of Together for Adoption, says it wonderfully: "God is an adoptive Father. Jesus, our Elder Brother, is God the Father's eternal, only-begotten, natural Son. We believers are his sons through adoption. This identity is fundamental to who we are. As adopted sons, we enjoy all the rights and privileges of the relationship that God the Father enjoys with his eternal Son. To be God's sons through adoption means that we are co-heirs with Jesus. This is an amazing reality and an eternal privilege! We will forever be God's sons through the miracle of adoption."




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Sandra John
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Cheney Kelvin
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Lera Coyne
The primary reason was to spread Gods name throughout the earth.
kimberly
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Chip Watkins
OK--Stop the adoption wars! Adoptive parents adopt children for the same reasons that biological parents create and bear children: We want to carry out the cultural mandate, we love children and want to pour our love into them, we want to feel some sense of fulfillment when they grow up into faithful young men and women, we want to give our human legacy to the world, and all the other blessed and not-so-blessed motives that we share. The principal difference is that, because of the Fall, some of us are unable or unwilling to create and bear biological children, and so we choose to adopt children instead of going for morally risky biotech solutions. Many of us chose to adopt healthy Caucasian American children, because that was simplest and least expensive--an important consideration when adoption costs are not covered by health insurance (nor should they be)--although the Internal Revenue Code does now include tax benefits for adoption. For those who can afford to adopt internationally--wonderful! Korean, Romanian, Chinese, Russian, and Mexican children, and children from every other nation and people in the world need loving parents, and will ordinarily benefit from the advantages of being raised in the US instead of elsewhere. And, yes, those of us who have adopted children (or who are adopted children) do, I think, often (but not exclusively)have a different and perhaps deeper understanding of the doctrine of our adoption as God's sons and daughters. Great, but no cause for pride! But how and where adoptive parents choose to adopt is largely a matter of God's calling in each couple's life. Some of us have no biological children, and all of our children are US-born "blue ribbon babies." Others have adopted only internationally, or chosen to adopt children with serious health problems. Others have some biological children and some adopted children. One couple we know bore a biological child after adopting two children. Some have biological children, then adopt babies from China, or then adopt older or other "special needs" children. Must we institute a hierarchy of values that says that one kind of adoption is somehow better than others? I think we ought not. Praise God that he has many different ways through which, in his kind providence, children are born into and raised in his world!
Mark E
I still think the answer lies somewhere in between all these viewpoints. Glorifying God is a main goal of the Christian life and God glorifies himself when he brings us into his kingdom. . . but he always meets us as individuals, where we are, to make that happen. Would you have ever come to God if you felt he was reaching out to you to glorify himself? Instead, God shows us his love for us as his unique creation, helps us to see our desperate need for him, and provides the way for us to be redeemed and adopted into his family. His glorification is a result of of who he is and our response to him. I personally know a family that looks on their adoption as very "missional" to the point where that mission takes precedence over loving each child as an individual and I am witnessing how those transposed priorities are making the adoption process more difficult for parents and children. It is fine to speak of the mission of adoption in the general sense, but anytime (and not just in respect to adoption, but in any area) our talk or actions perverts the image of a person into a "mission" or a means to glorify God, or any other category or label we choose to use, we are treading in dangerous waters.
Garnett Creel
This is an amazing reality and an eternal privilege! We will forever be Gods sons through the miracle of adoption.
Birth Mom
U I disagree. I'll be back to comment when I have a chance. Just wanted to through that out there though. I can't understand how adoption is so misunderstood everywhere these days. Not to be rude. Just my opinion. Ill be back!
Bob
You may be interested in the support community we are building to help families who need some assistance getting through the adoption process. Sustainable Communities of Families Adopting Children. www.orphancommunities.org A short two minute video on YouTube introduces our method of helping families http://youtu.be/cIzFBO4RLY8
Hannelore Reichert
This mission was broader, wider, and deeper. Our children, biological or not, are part of the mission God's entrusted to us.
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