Today is my oldest grandson’s birthday; he’s turning 23. Last year he moved to Kiser, Oregon. He seems to be happy there, but I sure do miss him. He was my “bud” for many years. We loved to explore ethnic restaurants, we went to DC together, we visited museums, parks, and exhibits. At one point in his young life, I would go get him almost every Saturday and we would set out for the day. One ritual was that end-of-the-day ice cream cone from Baskin Robbins. I would take him home dirty, tired and sticky!
I have three grandsons. Two are ours through natural means. Carter came to us ready-made. He’s our “adopted” grandson. He’s not related to Bob or me by blood, but he sure is related to us by love. When I look at Carter, I see how wonderful “adoption” truly is. Each one of our grandsons is special … each one is precious … each one is loved. It didn’t matter how they became ours, it just mattered that they are.
Carter helped me to truly understand our adoption into the family of God that Paul writes about in Ephesians 1:4-6. “In love [our Father God] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
God has chosen us as sons and daughters. He sent His spirit to us to woo us to Him, to convict us of our sin and invite us to accept His invitation of salvation. He did this according to His pleasure and will and through His glorious grace freely given to us in His natural Son, Jesus the Christ.
Now God our Father loves us with the same love He has for Christ Jesus our LORD. I’m adopted into His family. If you love the Son, so are you! I am a child of God … no more beautiful words have ever been spoken.
