Shalom Dear Brothers and Sisters Our Adoption ( written by Myles) Twenty four years ago when my wife and I were going out, we knew that if we ever did decide to marry I would have to be willing to adopt Charlie, the child she had given birth to 5 years earlier as a result of a mistaken relationship prior to her becoming a believer. As we dated and got to the point of becoming a family and marriage, this process seemed to work itself out and I personally never did have a problem with all of the typical "that is not my child" issues people can get caught up with. As I look back now, I believe that's because the Lord gave me a special love for that boy and as he grew I made sure he was treated just like I was his natural father. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, Charlie is a 29 year old adult living on his own and Theresa and I are empty nesters watching the movie "The Nativity Story" on a casual winter night. During the scene when the Joseph character initially finds out about the couple's first baby, the exact same thought struck us both, he had to adopt that child as his own like I had done in order for God's plan to be completed. The two of us even blurted it out at the same time! While we both could easily have chalked this unity in mind up as result of being married for a long time, we now know that the Lord allowed us this revelation (which neither of us had thought of before) to point us to some truth he wanted us to see -- God's love is stronger than the silly pride that would allow one to reject a special gift like a child because of genetics, and also that His grace is able to break down all of societies preconceived concepts about what makes up a normal family. Matthew 1:19 calls Joseph a "just man" but he was also a man of great faith as the scripture later shows that he obeyed the Lord doing what the angel of the Lord commanded even though it meant great challenges for him personally (Matthew 1:24) In order for God's plan of salvation to even get started he had to accept a few things that quite frankly would not be easy -- having a pregnant wife before the official marriage ceremony is not always a good way to endear yourself to the new in-laws and when you're not the father of said child well, you can imagine what joys were going through Joseph's mind. I often wondered why God would ask Joseph and indeed myself to take this step of faith but when you think about it, in reality God asking Joseph to do this makes perfect sense. It shows us how great His love for us really is. Even though it's not logical, like Joseph's willingness to accept the child that was not his, we who are believers have been adopted even though we were sinners into the Lord's family (Ephesians 1:5), the House of Israel. Because of what that Child (Yeshua) who Joseph willingly called his own did, we all have a reason for hope and we all can personally experience the greatest adoption.
B'Shem Yeshua Hamashiach, Amen In His Love, Myles
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