Are we God's ADOPTED children? - Page 2

[Bluegoat]

Originally Posted by LionTigerBear

I disagree with that concept, because I believe that God is the literal father of my spirit. So in a way He is more my Father than my biological father, I guess. And of course, in that sense, He is everyone's Father. We are all of divine spiritual heritage. That concept or teaching that you read about rubs me the wrong way, too. Maybe I'm reading it the wrong way, but it seems like maybe this person just wants to feel better than everyone else. Actually the more I think about it, the more I find the idea that God won't love us like a Father until we turn to Him, to be offensive. One of the most comforting and moving things about God, IMO, is the way He parents us lovingly even when we don't want it and have rejected Him. His parenting is not offered because we deserve it or have earned it, but because we need it.

I don't think the idea really means that God does not love those who are not adopted, so to speak. I think we could say, that God would like to adopt us all, and invites us all to be adopted.

But the idea of adoption here is not connected only to love, but as the quotes from Paul suggest, to the idea of being an heir. In the Roman Empire, it was fairly common for people to adopt someone as an heir, often a young man or even a young adult male. This person would be the heir of the household, but it did require the consent of the adoptee, who was old enough to be responsible for his own decisions. And there were also some requirements for behavior, he was expected to behave in a way that would bring honour to the new family, he might be expected to take up the family business, and so on.

I don't think there is anything wrong with seeing God as our Father in a very intimate and personal kind of way, and that he loves everyone. Those are both things that Christianity teaches us.

The image of adoption is though, one that we can't just throw out, as it is an important biblical image. There is a lot we can learn from it about the nature of our relationship with God. It can keep us from imagining that we aren't animals, for instance, which can be a danger. It helps us see that we have to actually respond to God's invitation to adopt us. Some people may find the image more useful than others, but I'm not inclined to think we should ever reject a biblical image that we don't like.

[EnviroBecca]

Lollybrat wrote:

I find that statement very insulting to adoptive families. It perpetuates the idea that adoption is "second best". I completely disagree that an absent biological father who circles his child's birthday on the calender is somehow preferable to an adoptive father who is lovingly present and involved every day of his child's life.

If you reread what I wrote, you'll see that the idea of one being BETTER than the other came from you, not me; I was talking about which seems more ACCURATE to me as an analogy to God's relationship to people. Also, I was comparing two types of absent father (the biological father who knows you exist, and the potential adoptive father who doesn't), but you're assuming a comparison between an absent bio father and a present adoptive father, which is not the issue.

Thanks for the scriptural references. It's useful to know that this idea came from the Bible and is not just a modern concept.