Adopt or Not

I’ve just finished reading, “After They are Yours: The Grace and Grit of Adoption,” by Brian Borgman. I started reading it about five years ago and didn’t finish because I found it to be too dramatic, and too pessimistic about the “grit” of adoption. I found it almost offensive and largely unhelpful. That was five years ago…. In the last five years we have seen our own family turned into a war zone and experienced the daily “sabotaging” of our lives, property and peace. Adoption has driven us to the precipice of our sanctification and asked us to peer into the deep darkness that lay beneath the thin veil of what we called godliness. More than anything else, adoption has shown us the depth of our own depravity and helped us appreciate Grace. As we’ve had our dreams of a happy, healthy “Christian” family slowly eroded and at times suddenly shattered, many have asked us whether we still “believe in” adoption. More than ever, Megan and I want to say, “YES!” Adoption is the gospel in action. Teaching through Romans 8 on Sunday mornings has reminded us that “creation waits with eager longing for the sons of God to be revealed” (Rom 8:19). God has subjected everything in His universe to futility, corruption, decay, and death in order that He might adopt hopelessly depraved children into His family and give them an inheritance alongside His One and Only beloved Son (Rom 8:16-17,23). God’s work in this world is summed up in one simple reality – the realization of our adoption as Sons (Rom 8:23-30). God knows well “the grace and grit of adoption” and will surely make His grace abundantly and sufficiently available to believers who choose to live out this story through adoption. For those who have adopted, or are thinking of adopting, do yourself a favour: read the book, ponder and believe Romans 8, listen to our testimony, get the help and support you need, don’t look back, and keep going! “Trust in the Lord and do good” (Ps 37:3).

Some resources to encourage you:

• After they are yours: The grace and grit of adoption by Brian Borgrman (https://rb.gy/47a3ei)

• A sermon on Romans 8: The Love of Adoption (Rom 8:28-30) On our website (https://rb.gy/l3n4r8) or podcast channel (https://rb.gy/eeyg8c)

• Our testimony of adoption: On our website (https://rb.gy/mdyvdd) or podcast channel (https://rb.gy/urdloc)