Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour
Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of the Lutheran Hour - "Adoption"
- Tuesday, 26 November 2013
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.(Galatians 4:4-5)
Sometimes, not always, but sometimes
things are the exact opposite of what they should be.
As evidence, I share the story of a
couple from Ohio. Nine years ago this couple adopted a child who was an infant.
For nine years those two were the most important people in that child's life.
They were mother and father, the source of love and discipline, of security and
stability. For nine years they were given a wonderful opportunity to shape the
present and future of that young boy.
Apparently, after nine years, those days
are over.
On October 24th the lad's parents showed
up at the local welfare office and said they were returning their adopted son.
The mother added that the lad had grown increasingly hostile to them and had
even threatened the family with a knife. According to the adoption people,
returning a child is not something adoptive parents are allowed to do.
A prosecutor in that state has agreed. He
says there are legal consequences to the parents' action and he is prepared to
charge the couple with child abandonment.
So those are the facts.
Like I said, there are times when things
are the opposite of what they should be. It is the boy, not the parents, who
should be going to the authorities. It is the boy, not the parents, who should
be requesting a new start. After all, if his present parents have allowed him
to go that far astray in the nine years that they have had him, then something
wasn't done rightly.
The same can be said in humanity's
relationship with the Lord.
Listen carefully and you will hear people
talk about how unfair God is, how capricious, how untrustworthy and unreliable
He is. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Truly, it is God who ought to be
complaining about us. It is the Lord who ought to be saying, "I've had
enough. Those folks on earth are a rebellious, unrepentant, disobedient,
ungrateful group. I don't want them. I don't need them. I'm going to walk away
and forget about them."
But that doesn't happen, does it?
What does happen is this: God loves us
and decides -- without any motivating or prompting on our parts -- to set into
motion a plan to save us. Although that plan's fulfillment is free to us, it is
costly to Him. So that we might be forgiven He sent His only Son into this
world to be our Substitute. It was a mission which was completed when Jesus,
carrying our sins, died on the cross.
His resurrection from the dead three days
later is unassailable proof the Lord hasn't given up on us and hasn't turned
away from us. It is a proof which ought to bring about thankful hearts and
appreciative lives.
And that's the way it ought to be.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, open my eyes and
heart so I may see the wonders of Your grace which has been given in Jesus.
Then, having seen, may all I say and do show my appreciation. In Jesus' Name.
Amen.
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In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
660 Mason Ridge Center Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63141
1-800-876-9880
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