Message: Adopted by God
            As you can see, today’s message is titled, Adopted by God. We will begin by looking at adoption in modern times.
At the core of the process lies the eager parents searching to take in a child that is not their own. The parents seek to bring them into a complete familial relationship with them committing to care for their every need not out of requirement but as an act of pure love. In the process of welcoming their child home, they are forced to go through a long paper trail and screening processes.
These steps are tedious and can cause despair, but they are present to ensure that all parties are set up for the most likely situation for success. In the final stages, the parents eagerly sign their lives to commit to a series of legal responsibilities to the child. The process is long and can take many years to complete, but when asked if the results were worth the painstaking process, most will answer with a resounding yes. The adopted child is now accepted into their parents’ arms, and their newfound family life begins.
            As far back as the beginning of the Hebrew Scriptures, we can see the formation of adoptive language and policies. For instance (an idea from Sandra Richter in her book, Epic of Eden), let us look at the structure of a covenant in Ancient Israel God makes a promise to His people. In return, His people make a similar promise to Him.
Throughout the covenants, we can see this model. It can be easy to overlook the structure of the covenantal relationship when reading the Bible. Moving past the statements as simple agreements that are broken, as they often are by God’s covenant people. These covenants are the core to understanding the Bible. A covenant is a way for God to formally establish the terms and conditions of His relationship to His chosen people. To eventually spread His acceptance to anyone who hears and will follow His teachings through Jesus. The covenants are one place where we can see the foundations of adoption in the early Hebrew Scriptures.
One of the earliest recorded adoptions in the Hebrew Scriptures is that of Moses by Pharaoh’s daughter. His family faithfully places him in a basket in the river and watches to see the maid of the daughter of Pharaoh bring the child Moses to Pharaoh’s daughter. Who chooses to take on the responsibility of raising him as her own subverting Pharos law to kill the firstborn sons of the Israelite slaves? God’s oversight saw Moses placed safely in the very house that mandated his death. They raised him as a royal, where he attained the connections that assisted him in communicating with Pharaoh, ultimately freeing God’s people. God saves Moses through human adoption that he may save His people.
Also, the Levitical laws account for three main groups that were previously ignored: the widow, the orphan, and the sojourner. All three of these marginalized groups would have been completely ignored and likely left to their own devices, but the law makes room for them.
The patriarch of their family is to come forward when he hears of their plight and take care of their needs. The role of the patriarch in times of trouble and the necessary help is referred to as a redeemer (also from Richter). This term should set off many bells in the New Testament. God has taken on our inability to live up to the requirements of the original covenants and resolved to redeem His people. His spiritual family that we may be once again unified with Him for the first time since the fall.
            The New Covenant sets out the rules and guidelines for living within our newly semi-restored relationship with God with one main difference from past covenants, an override for our sinful nature. Jesus came to earth to preach and teach the way of the Kingdom of God and made the final atonement for sin on the cross that we may approach the throne-room individually.
Our access to the Trinity is unfathomable; before the cross, the last people to have privileged access to God were Adam and Eve in the garden, many generations before Christ. Due to our ability to interact with God and having been dedicated as the new temple of God individually, we are filled by the Spirit that we can and should spread the gospel message of hope, love and faithfulness through the world.
We can witness in many ways and should not restrict our understanding of witness to simply saying the gospel to others. While this is a great witness, the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control all account for ways to witness in-deed and action. To the work that the Spirit has within our lives and speak to the faith living within us.
            God’s choice to adopt the people of Israel and later to bring us as gentiles into the redemptive plan illustrates His insistence on meeting His people where they are. In the tabernacle building, God chose to have the people build a tent, a massive tent but a tent. His dwelling space on earth was to reflect the structures of housing that the Israelites had been living in. Through the words of the prophet Isaiah, we are revealed another name for God, Emmanuel: God with us. God plans to not only interact with his people but to be actively present in their lives.
            How has God called you to be His presence with someone that they too could come to faith in the risen Christ? It could be as simple as being patient in line at the grocery store on a busy day, thanking the teller who had just finished assisting a disgruntled guest. Maybe you were needed to support an individual who had just received troubling news; that you may give support and a caring shoulder to cry on after receiving a terminal diagnosis.
Covid has distanced and disconnected us making it harder to support each other through the difficulties we face in our day-to-day lives. We can be abundantly thankful that we live in an era with more ways of connecting than ever before. While we remain unable to connect in person, may we cling to the promise of connection through different media forms. We are looking with great enthusiasm to the not-so-far future, where we will rejoin again in person to worship and see our families and friends.           
            One question remains: how will you meet people where they are and communicate the gospel? Maybe a person has been floating in your mind that you should call, e-mail or message. Did you hear that one of your friends or family is going through some rough times, and they could use someone to talk to? The power of our words and actions is evident; they may not be the basis of our faith or salvation. The words we speak and the things that we do speak volumes about our underlying beliefs.