My Adoption

I have mentioned on this blog on a few occasions how similar our adoption story of Vika is to our adoption into God's family.  Yesterday was Easter-Resurrection Sunday, and so I have been thinking about this post for a while now as I was reflecting on what Jesus did on the cross for us.    I am not very eloquent when it comes to words, but I feel these words need to be written.  We talk about the sacrifices that have to be made for our adoption of one little girl locked away in Eastern Europe.  It is nothing compared to the price that Jesus paid for us!  What price did Jesus pay?

He paid the ultimate price-the price of his life, the separation from Him and God, His father.  But not only that, if you read the story of His life here on earth, He suffered so much more than that.  And why?  Why would He take upon Him such loss and suffering?  Why would He choose to humble himself to become man and suffer here on earth for my sin and the sin of the whole world's sake?  Because He loves me and every one that ever walked or ever will walk this earth more than our simple human minds will ever be able to comprehend.  I don't know about you, but I have a hard time doing something good for someone who has hurt me.  I LOVE my girls, and I don't know that I could ever sacrifice them for anyone, especially not someone who has hurt me, cared nothing about me, cursed me, has forgotten about me, or turned his back on me.  And yet, Jesus loved me with an ultimate love to die on the cross for me-when I deserved this punishment. 

Can you imagine the amount of pain-physical, emotional, and spiritual - He went through for our sake?  Remember that although Jesus was 100% God, He was also 100% human and felt pain just like you and I do.  He felt every beating He received from the soldiers, every thorn on the crown of thorns they placed on Him, He felt the weight of the cross on His shoulders, He felt the nails driven into His hands and feet, He felt the excruciating pain of hanging on that cross for six hours before His death.  And not only that, but He felt the pain of begging His heavenly Father to take this cup of suffering from Him and yet knowing that He would have to die on the cross to fulfill His purpose on the earth.  He felt the agony of begging His heavenly Father to the point of sweating bloods of drop.  He felt the separation between a Father and His son in a way no other human has ever or will ever experience.  He felt the restraint He had to exercise not to safe Himself.  He felt the humiliation of the accusations brought against Him.  He felt the shame of the soldiers taking his clothes.  He felt the disrespect and hatred of the Pharisees and Scribes who wanted His death.  He had every right to defend Himself, and yet for our sake, He chose not to.  He suffered the pain of his closest friends forsaking Him when He was placed on that cross.  And yet, He took it without complaint, without wavering in doing His Father's will.  And not only that, but in the final hours of His greatest pain, He thought of those He was leaving behind.  He gave his mom a new son, who would take care of Him.  He asked God to forgive those who brought such great trespasses against Him, and He died, separating Himself completely from His Father. 

Why?  To give us the FREE gift of being adopted into His family.  Yes, it comes absolutely free.  It does not ask anything in return.  It does not require a certain amount of good deeds or a special way of living.  It simply requires FAITH in what He did on the cross for us.  Yes, when we give our life to Jesus, when we ask Him for forgiveness of our sins, and He saves us, we automatically become children of His heavenly family FOREVER.  And the Holy Spirit within us will cause us to change our life and live it completely for Him, but this is not a requirement for coming into His family or we would never be able to attain it.  But the beauty of Easter does not end with the cross and His death on the cross - but with His RESURRECTION.  His Almighty power over death itself!  If He is mighty to die, and He is mighty to rise again, He is mighty to do whatever we ask of Him to do in our lives!  I am thankful for Easter!  I am thankful for the empty tomb! 

I stumbled upon this song this evening after I had finished my post, and I could not have found a better way to sum up this post: