This morning I attended Topeka Bible Church with my parents. The service was called “Adoption Sunday.” The main idea I took away was that the act of adoption is a central component of God’s character. This message was highlighted by several adoption stories from within the congregation. I have really been moved by the families I have known that adopted children. There is almost no act more alien to mammalian biology than raising a child that does not share your genes. This kind of thing makes me feel good to be alive.
Thoughts of adoption took me back to Kenya. I feel I have been remiss in not more widely sharing the importance of adoption to the Kenyan family. Of the Kenyan men I knew and worked with, the majority had either adopted or had an adoption within their immediate families. In two cases I could name, the family had adopted 3 children. Keep in mind that many of these families exist in a state we would define as “profound poverty.” It is true that the economic conditions, mortality rate, and cultural differences in Kenya explain why adoption would be so necessary there; but not entirely why it would be so common. The frequency with which Kenyans raise children that are not immediately theirs (though often related) always humbled me. It makes me proud of them.
26 November 2007 at 9:18 |
I like this. In the same way biological parents say that they cannot express in words the love and commitment they feel for their children, also one who adopts certainly must have an inexpressible love, and one that they have decisively chosen for themselves and their family.
For [even] we have been adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ….
26 November 2007 at 15:37 |
I guess it’s time we finally let you know, son. You were adopted.
27 November 2007 at 9:54 |
HA ha ha ha ha….funniest comment yet from Alan Lunn. This one takes the cake.