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by Dennis Wheeler
There is a family in our church that is very excited. They just learned that their granddaughter and her husband are going to be adopting a precious little boy in the next few weeks. This is something they have been praying for and working towards for months. They can't wait to embrace their little 'gift from heaven'!
Now, can you imagine these prospective parents saying..."Well, we're anxious to adopt little Johnny, but first we want to know a few things. Does he have a house to live in? Does he have any money for his school tuition? Does he have a ride to school every morning? Does he have clothes to wear everyday? Can he prepare his own meals?"
I'm confident that any adoption agency would not stand for such talk. In fact, I'm quite certain their response would be..."Hold on! Wait a minute! You don't understand something. You don't adopt Johnny because of what he has...you adopt him because of what he needs! He needs a 'home'. He needs to be cared for. He needs loving parents."
You know what? The same is true with God. He doesn't adopt us because of what we have. He doesn't give us His name because of our wit or bank account or great personality. 'Adoption' is something we receive, not something we earn.
That's why we're preparing to celebrate Christmas!
Recall the words from Galatians 4..."When the right time came, God sent His Son...to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could ADOPT us as His very own children. And now, you can call God your dear Father!"
I know that that granddaughter and her husband are excited to adopt their son; BUT, it absolutely overwhelms me to realize that God, my heavenly Father, was even more excited to adopt ME as His very own son!!
Hey...I'm a child of the King!!
Let the Christmas celebration begin!!!!!
He serves as the Senior Pastor with southwest Virginia church... a loving church family in Abingdon.
He and his wife Sharon have been married for over 27 years and are the proud parents of two beautiful daughters, one son-in-law, and two precious grandchildren, the second arrived arrived on the scene in September 2004!!
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