Today’s author is Prince of Peace member and a retired ELCA Pastor, Gary Olson.
Today’s devotion is based on Romans 8:14-17.
“You have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, . . . joint heirs with Christ . . .”
In the Apostle Paul’s thought, we are not naturally children of God. We are children of God by God’s gift. That’s why Paul writes, “You have received a spirit of adoption.” Paul is the only New Testament writer to use the Greek word huiothesias, adoption, to describe our relationship with God. For Paul, that gift is revealed in the love of God shown for you in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus.
Adoption is an important word in the Olson house. Adoption does not mean “less than.” Someone I don’t remember said, “Home is not where you are from. Home is where you are wanted.”
When our oldest son Jonathan drowned in 1988, friends and family were helpful in many ways. Over coffee, one friend was trying to ease my grief. He stumbled over his words. “Is it…is it easier that Jon was adopted and not your biological son?” I was stunned by the question. I remember looking down at my coffee cup for a few moments. I knew he meant well. My mind flashed back to the ways Jean and I loved and tried our best to raise Jon from age six months to eighteen years. The image of Jon as a sparkling blue-eyed boy running at me with glee to wrestle on the living room floor came to mind. I thought of the first days of school, the prayers by his bedside, the camping trips. Finally, I said something like, “No. My heart hurts so much I’m afraid I won’t recover. My head knows Jon is adopted but my heart has never thought of him that way. He is our son and will always be our son.”
Our sons, Jonathan and David have always been and will always be wanted. When the Apostle Paul writes that we have “received a spirit of adoption,” it means you are wanted, you have the gift of God’s love in Christ. “When we cry ‘Abba! Father!” (or Mother) in anger, exasperation, joy, or in need of help, it is as a child reaching out for the Father’s/Mother’s hand and home where we are wanted.
Merciful God, because of your love for us in Jesus Christ we have become brothers and sisters, daughters and sons in your family. We thank you for your love which welcomes us. (ELBW, p. 81)