Making the case for adoption
Controversial comments concerning adoption have left adoptive families flabbergasted and upset
The blessing of adoption — The love of a child, whether biological or adopted, is one in the same. Photo credit: Jennifer Van Buskirk, Facebook
Outspoken televangelist Pat Robertson’s offensive statements regarding adoption exploded controversy among the Christian right.
According to Robertson, “You don’t have to take on someone else’s problems.”
His language in the interview seemed to demean those who adopt, and he went as far as to say that one of his friends adopted a son who “grew up weird.”
Robertson, who nowadays seems to be making a habit of vocalizing outrageous assertions, is still one of the most heard voices in Christianity due to the success of his program, The 700 Club. Despite this fact, a Christian who does research on the matter will learn that Robertson’s view on adoption does not serve as the final voice on opinion on the matter from our faith.
Those who adopt display many of the greatest values and principles found in the Bible. The generosity and compassion that adoption requires is extremely important for Christians to understand. Psalm 68:5 says that God’s heart is set upon being a father to the fatherless.
Jesus commands us to give everything that we have to Him, and to shelter the poor and those in need. In Luke 18:22, we are presented the conversation between Jesus and the rich young ruler.
“When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’”
We are called to have complete generosity, unrestrained by comfort. It is so important to Christ that he turned away the young ruler seeking eternal life because the man was not willing to sacrifice what he had.
The foundation of Christianity is new life in Christ through his resurrection and grace, completely undeserved by the receiver.
Ephesians 1:4-5 says that in love, God chose us to be adopted as sons. Adoption is principle made perfect by God and his salvation, not because we deserved it in any way, but because he decided to give it freely to us. We were dead in our sins before we were redeemed.
A friend of mine, Jaime Bailey, is a mother of four — two naturally-born and two adopted. One of her adopted children, Cruise, is autistic. Jaime and her husband knew that they were called to adopt, and there is no doubt in their mind that their adopted children are as completely theirs as their natural children are. Although Cruise has a disability, he is an even greater gift to them, teaching them new lessons on love and the value of life every day.
For Jamie, the key to their choice is that “we are trusting whatever God has for our family, and we are so excited for our future!”
The Bailey family recently decided to continue the extension of their love to foster children.
Adoption is one of God’s most beautiful creations. It is amazing that we are capable of completely loving a child that we have no biological connection to. There are not many relationships that more closely identify with Christianity than that of someone completely undeserving receiving unconditional love.
That extension of love is something that we should be excited to have the opportunity to give and learn from and should never be taken for granted because of inconvenience. Adoption is not taking on someone else’s problem, it is an answer to God’s command.
We have four beautiful children, three are biological and one is adopted, but that’s just the way that God chose to bless us with the children he gave us. Our two oldest are Liberty students. It just saddens me when someone who is in the spotlight as a Christian does so much damage to the name of Christ by making such ignorant statements like the ones made by Pat Robertson. Years ago, I sadly believed that adoption wasn’t for me. I didn’t really think that someone who had their own biological children could “really” love an adopted child the same way as they loved their biological children. Then, praise the Lord, God changed my heart and put on my heart that we should adopt a baby girl from China. God took away all of my fears associated with adoption and gave me a deep love for this little girl long before I even saw the first picture of her just as he did for the children who grew in my womb. When Emily was placed into my arms on March 26, 2007, I experienced one of the greatest miracles I have ever experienced! It was at that moment that I truly understood the depth of God’s love for me and what it means when Scripture talks about us being adopted as children of God. I completely forget that Emily is adopted, and I love her just the same as my other children. I can’t imagine life without her, and we have a very close relationship. Emily is now six years old, and if you come to any of the LU football games, you will see Emily dressed out looking just like an LU cheerleader as she cheers her big brother, Mitch #73, on from the student section with her big sister, Kayla!!
Thanks, Karin for a great article. As the parent of an adopted child, I can truly say that I’ve grown in my understanding of my adoption into God’s family deeper than I ever did before. I’m sure God is pleased about your defense of adoption. We only have to look to James 1 to see what God considers pure religion and it involves our attitude toward orphans. Thank you for standing up to Robertson. Too many Christians are afraid to stand up and call out the false teachers. To use a spiritual term, Robertson is simply an idiot. I’ll never understand why people continue to watch him. He does not speak for the majority of true Bible believing followers of Christ and we should stand up and make sure the non-believing world knows that he is not one of us.
In Christ,
Paul Hanson
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