Our Own Children

A friend recently asked me if we had talked about how we would approach a conversation with our children years from now to let them know that they "aren't our real children." It was an eye opening question! Because the truth of it is, they are our real children. I know she meant to ask me about talking with the kids about adoption. And I guess it's just not all that dramatic to us. We're not planning to sit them down at some point for a somber conversation about it. We couldn't be more thrilled and excited about all that God has done, and we expect that regular conversations with our children about how God brought them into our family will be full of joy and praise to Him.

My friend also asked me if we plan to try to have children "of our own." This was another surprising question. We have two children of our own! God has given them to us and we love them already, before we've even seen them face to face. I understand that she meant biological children. But I really want to be careful about the way we phrase things. Our children don't have to question whether they're our real, our own son and daughter. They are.

All of this has such spiritual parallels. You see, I'm an adopted daughter of God. I was a rebel against Him. The Bible tells us that all of us are born that way. Ephesians 2:3 says "we once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." But God sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for my sin and purchase me as His own. I am God's child, and I came into His family through adoption. Romans 8:14 says "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him."

Physical adoption is a beautiful picture of this spiritual reality. And if I were to assert that a child who came into our family through adoption was not our true child, it would undermine the reality that God's adoption of us into His family makes us His true and permanent children. That means we need to be careful with our choice of words. Our children are our own, just as we are God's own. 

Thank the Lord for His goodness to our family! Psalm 113:9 says "He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children."