My Daily Devotional

God Has Adopted Us

“…I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
2nd Corinthians 6:18

I have been researching my ancestors for many years now and discovered years ago that my grandmother had been adopted back in 1895 when she was a baby. Although I know her adopted father and mother I have not been able to find out who her real father and mother were and the reason for the adoption. There are several examples of adoption in the scriptures—Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter, Esther was adopted by her cousin Mordecai. But, I believe that the most beautiful example was when Mephibosheth was adopted by David in 2nd Samuel chapter 9. The beauty of that particular adoption is that there was no motivation, no reason for David to do it other than out of his grace and his love. And in many ways, that adoption is similar to our adoption by God. Even more remarkable is that Mephibosheth was the grandson of Saul who had repeatedly tried to kill David. And even most surprising of all is the fact that Mephibosheth was crippled in both feet, and was helpless to render David any significant service. And yet David brought this outcast, to dine at his table as his son and gave him a magnificent inheritance. Adoption agencies will tell you that there’s a big market for babies who are healthy, but for babies who are handicapped, mentally or physically, it’s hard to find a family for them. I am thankful that God is not like that, as none of us would stand much of a chance because we’ve all got handicaps of one form or another. We’ve all got blotches and imperfections. But the good news is that God has chosen us by grace, just like David did with Mephibosheth, and is motivated solely by His grace and His love, and has given us the opportunity to be His children.