How many books have you read on the topic of adoption? How many books on adoption can you even think of? There aren’t many out there; especially very few from a biblical perspective. Going through an adoption home study, our agency requires a few books to study before approval for adoption; all books which had to be borrowed from secular sources. This is quite sad considering adoption is a much larger part of the Christian life than most probably realize.
Russell Moore has, through the sovereignty of God, been drawn to see the beauty of adoption through the painful struggle of infertility. Through the battle of bringing two Russian boys into his home, God taught him much more than what at first appears to be “mere charity.” Moore weaves his adoption experience and glorious biblical truths together in his book Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches.
Moore’s first chapter, titled Adoption, Jesus, and You: Why You Should Read This Book, Especially If You Don’t Want To, sets the stage for the message of the entire book. Most who are reading this think that they have no need to read a book about adoption as they are not going to be adopting any children. However, according to the Bible (James 1:27), true Christian faith is all about adoption. Russell Moore beautifully explains throughout Adopted for Life that not only is it a priority for every believer to be involved in adoption, but that every believer has already been involved in adoption.
The truth is, adoption is all over the New Testament; it is the heart of the gospel. Those who were once enemies of God – children of the devil – have been made to be children of God, heirs to His heavenly inheritance. Every person who has truly turned from sin and surrendered to Christ has been grafted into the family of Abraham, become a brother of Christ, and given promises that can only be made to sons of God. Understanding the relationship between the gospel and adoption will only deepen your relationship with your heavenly Father. “As we become more attuned to the gospel, we’ll have more of a burden for orphans. As we become more adoption-friendly, we’ll be better able to understand the gospel.” (pg. 18)
According to Moore, being adopted means “we’re part of a brand-new family, a new tribe, with a new story, a new identity.” (pg. 36) When we turn our backs to our old life, we embrace a new life as part of a new family, with new brothers and sisters sharing a new Father. Our old life has past and we look forward to a new inheritance in heaven. No longer do we call ourselves citizens of the world, but aliens in the world who have homes prepared by our new Father. Our ancestry is no longer German, Norwegian, English, Asian, African, but we now have Jewish roots in the line of Abraham.
Adopted for Life then expands on the gospel metaphor and begins to make it applicable to every member of God’s family. As James 1:27 states that true biblical faith results in caring for orphans, Moore explains that “a culture of adoption and a culture of evangelism coexist together.” (pg. 75) Adopting children into your home isn’t about filling your family, but rather His family. “Adoption is…evangelistic to the core. When a Christian family adopts a child, that family is committing to years of gospel proclamation, of seeking to see this child come to faith in Christ.” (pg. 181) In a world that sees children as a commodity or a burden, “Imagine if Christian churches were known as the places where unwanted babies become beloved children.” (pg. 79) As we combat the drastic effects of evolutionary philosophies, Moore wonders if “Perhaps the most practical way your congregation can show Darwinism to be wrong is to showcase families for whom love is more than gene protection.” (pg. 80)
If we desire to be faithful to God’s commands - both to care for orphans and to the Great Commission – the church will make adoption more of a priority. Russell Moore gives practical advice in Adopted for Life for individual families and churches to begin to be more obedient in this ministry (i.e. adopting orphans, providing resources, offering prayer, emphasizing adoption teaching, starting church adoption funds, and embracing the church as a new family). He brings needed conviction for stagnant faith that won’t leave its comfort zone. And he reveals the glorious joy to be found in being an adopted son of the Creator of the world.
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