loved & wanted

It’s 1am and I’m wide awake. My mom and I went to the drive-in movies and thought it was necessary to stop by Starbucks on the way. Espresso late at night means this girl will be up for quite a while. So what better time than now to do a little blogging and heart sharing.

Adoption has been on my mind a tremendous amount lately. From hearing stories at church to watching videos online to reading blogs of families, it seems to keep coming back to capture my attention. And I want to learn more. I discovered this blog last week and I couldn’t stop reading through all her old posts. This family lives the Gospel. Their hearts to love God and grow in Christ are so evident. Well, they adopted a little boy from Uganda and the mama has been writing a series on adoption & the gospel. Whoa. I don’t have words to say about it other than I’ve been challenged and encouraged. In her most recent post, she wrote about what their son has been rescued from because of his adoption and then compared it to us…

“we really have no idea the depth of what we've been rescued from when God chose us & called us His own. we were dead in our sin, He made us alive & we could still be lost & alone. as we understand the gospel more we understand what He rescued us from & that should draw us to worship!”

Her words reminded me again of divine adoption. And oh my goodness is it humbling and grace-filled to know that I’m adopted by the Lord.

“So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might REDEEM those who were under the Law, that we might receive the ADOPTION as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Sprit of His Son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba Father!’” –Galatians 4:3-6 (NASB)

We were born into bondage. We were trapped under the weight of our sin. We needed a Savior. We were like orphans in our prior condition. That’s when God sent His Son to rescue us. Jesus came and lifted that burden by dying for us. His death makes it possible for us to be redeemed! Even though redemption is MORE than enough, it doesn’t end there…we’re also adopted! You see, redemption leads to adoption. Ahhhh! What incomprehensible goodness that is. Not only are we loved fiercely, but we’re wanted. God wants relationship with us and because of Christ we can respond to His pursuit.

“You have called us loved and you have called us wanted…”

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And just in case you’re wondering what 1am looks like for me…

One last thing, I can’t stop listening to I'll Always Love You by Phil Wickham. It’s been my background music while I write this and it makes me want to get up and dance around my bedroom.