Adoption and Covenant Children

Adoption can be a touchy subject. Some were part of the foster care system and had terrible experiences. With this particular post, I will not be engaging with the foster care system or adoption cases, but from a Spiritual perspective and how Scripture says we "received adoption as sons" (Gal 4:4-7).

My wife and I have adopted 3 children. We fostered a fourth, but he left and went back to live with his bio-mom. I was in a meeting with some men and one of them asked the question about how we should treat our baptised children as it pertains to our expectation of their salvation. The thought came to my mind that the whole thing relates back to our adoption stories perfectly!

Some of you may have heard that when you get married, the word "divorce" as it pertains to your relationship should never enter your vocabulary because to consider that draws questions into each of your minds and gives you an "out". The same should be true for us as we consider adopting children. We should NEVER threaten to send them away. The main reason is they will always be worried that is what you are going to do and it doesn't spur them to obedience or integration, but just the opposite. They will not bond with you as their parents, or maybe even their siblings. They will never become part of the family.

We should do the same with our covenant children. We speak to them as though they are already apart of the family of God. Our covenant children have been baptized into the kingdom. Our language should reflect that reality and encourage them to integrate themselves into that reality.

This is another reason the Reformed have problems with the broadly evangelical church. Many times when the pastor is presenting his sermon he does not include those realities. The messages are heavy on what we must DO or what we must think. If you walk out of your church thinking what you are going to do different because of conviction you are burdened by the Law, brother/sister! We are possitionally FREE of sin! Christ's one sacrifice did once and for all atone for all we did, are doing, or will do! We will never have to account for our sins! Our response to our Father can be, "Christ is my righteousness!" Christ declared us righteous by the law. My response to my adopted children is, "You are my child. You are a Prather. Your past is behind you and doesn't matter. You will ALWAYS be a Prather and nothing will stop you from being my child!" The law has declared these children mine!