Recently, a friend of mine shared the link of a blogger who had thoughts about God’s plan in regards to adoption. I have provided the link below. The blogger who refers to herself as Tonguu Momma commented on God’s role in adoption or rather in the orphan situation. She seemed to see adoption as a Plan B in God’s purpose.
First, let me say that I appreciate Tonggu Momma’s post, her heart for orphans and the thought she put into a very controversial subject. It is a very difficult subject to wrestle with. I would like to comment on her post.
Before I comment, I need to state the context from which I derive my opinions. Like Tonggu Momma I am a Christian and by that I mean that I affirm certain essentials of Evangelical Christianity. Furthermore, I hold to a Reformed position. An attribute of being Reformed is that I affirm that God is completely sovereign. Regarding God’s sovereignty, The Westminster Confession of Faith says,
“He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things; and has most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever Himself pleases.” WCF 2.II
I am writing this from the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit VI and I just heard Al Mohler speak. There is something he said that I believe really speaks to this issue. I will summarize this in my own words. If we are motivated to adopt merely because of the need, we will grow weary and we will give up. Considering that with over 140 million orphans and that only a very small fraction of 1 (one) percent of them will be adopted per year we cannot possibly think that adoption has any real impact on the orphan crisis. Now, that is not to say that it does not have a significant impact at all. Of course it does! However, adoption does not really help with the greater orphan crisis – this is the wrong focus. Our focus and our purpose must be grounded in sound, biblical doctrine.
If our motivation to adopt is driven by the fact that it glorifies God, then we can see God’s sovereign hand in it. Adoption is a picture of our own adoption as sons and daughters of the Living God. Adoption is the Gospel embodied. Adoption is a picture of the Gospel and through it, God glorifies Himself. It is as Al Mohler says, our passion for adoption must be based not on the need, but on the God’s passion for the lost, the fatherless and for those who have no voice.
The truth of God’s sovereignty elevates the glorious truth that adoption was God’s intent. A few nights ago, my son Zachary and I were talking and he was telling me that he had been thinking about his existence (or non-existence) before he was conceived. He asked, “Was I just nothing?” Admittedly, he caught me off-guard and after a moment of thought I was grateful for the Holy Spirit’s help. I replied, “Zack, you were never ‘nothing’ to God. Before he even created time, He had already thought of you. He had already planned how and when he would create you, what you would look like and what your personality would be like. He even chose your parents.” What awestruck me was Zack’s response. He said, “Wow, and God even decided that I would have a brother born on another continent from different parents.” That is a sovereign God! That he can orchestrate every minute detail of His creation according to His redemptive purpose and for his glory is mind-boggling.
It is both cruel and theologically irresponsible to suggest that my adopted children were God’s solution to His previously failed plan. It is likewise irresponsible to suggest that our reason for adopting was solely to deal with the orphan crisis. So why do we as Christians adopt? Our primary reason is redemptive in the theological sense.
We Christians must function within the context of a fallen world. Our redemptive mission does not sanction that we kidnap or harvest orphans, manufacture or falsify documentation or anything along those lines in order to bring children into Godly homes. Furthermore, just as we must rest upon the sovereignty of God to help us understand why there are orphans, we must also rest in His sovereignty in the fact that there are orphans going to homes that reject God.
There is a reason that Christians start using terms like “Plan B” or “God allows” or “God stepped-back” to somehow present Him as a passive participant in the carrying out of events. It is because they want to avoid the truth that God is the originator of these horrible things, like earthquakes, poverty, hunger, the holocaust, etc.
The problem here is the failed understanding that there is not a thing or event that exists or happens for its own sake. All things exist and happen to magnify the greatness of Christ. God not only planned these things but also brought them about. Satan’s fall occurred, not because God couldn’t control Satan. On the contrary, God has a purpose for Satan’s fall just as He has a purpose for there being orphans in the world, earthquakes, disease and so on (Piper, Spectacular Sins). Yet God accomplished this without sinning himself. I am satisfied with that conclusion because the Bible is crystal clear about both of these truths.
We should not be flippant about such things. When we witness evil and hurt in the world, we should feel the sorrow and make ourselves available to help for that is kingdom work, it is redemptive. But also, we should contemplate the power and determination of God to do whatever is necessary to bring glory to Himself and to exalt his Son. It should cause us to tremble, for as Spurgeon teaches, “God's terrible voice often makes men tremble, and that is one proof of the working of his grace in their hearts, for they tremble before him, and flee unto him.”
Original post:
http://ourlittletongginator.blogspot.com/2010/04/god-and-adoption.html