“What if we as Christians were known, once again, as the people who take in orphans and make of them beloved sons and daughters?” I just finished the audiobook version of Adopted for Life by Dr. Russell Moore. This book is an outstanding resource for anyone that is considering or pursuing adoption for their family. Moore shares the story of his own sons and how God brought their family together. There are a lot of details in this book about what to expect during the adoption process, things to look forward to, and how to deal with identity issues and other questions that are definitely going to come up along the way. This is not a how-to manual by any stretch of the imagination. I laughed out loud a few times as Moore pointed to some humorous moments that come up with paperwork, social workers, and other necessary parts of the process.
The main thesis of this book is that adoption is the most accurate picture of what God did for us when he sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay the price for our forgiveness that would reunite us to the family of God as joint heirs with Christ. The gospel calls us to this endeavor in James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Even if God is not calling your family specifically to adopt, He might be calling you to partner with another family in prayer to realize this for their family.
Moore said, “The gospel of Jesus Christ means our families and churches ought to be at the forefront of the adoption of orphans close to home and around the world.” I am grateful that God has called our family to this exciting adventure of adoption. I am even more thankful that God has surrounded us with other friends who are pursuing this for their families as well as friends who are prayerfully supportive and encouraging. We have been in the adoption process for a little over a year now. It is exciting to think of welcoming our new son into our family and it is something that we think about, talk about, and pray about every day. We trust in God’s perfect timing for this to happen for our family. Without His favor and provision in this area, our adoption journey would be a disaster.
This book is a great resource to share with anyone you know that is considering adoption, in the process already, or currently raising children that they adopted. There is a lot of humor in this book that comes with a great reminder to dig in to the Scriptures that reveal a loving and merciful God that has a perfect plan for each of our lives as we run hard after Him.