A Caution about Orphan Care and Adoption Theology

The theology of adoption is a beautiful thing. I’m eternally grateful for it as a child of God. I have been adopted. I was not God's child. Now I am. My inheritance is now with my Father in heaven (Romans 8:15)  He is the author of adoption. He sacrificed so that, through faith, I live and have been made a part of his family.

But this theology can only capture part of the story. God himself cannot be fully understood by pondering one aspect of his character or work (or one thousand for that matter). There are many truths about God that need to inform how we view earthly adoption.  I’m now concerned about some practical ramifications for adoptees if we only tell them that their story is a beautiful redemption story, that it was God’s plan from the beginning of time for them to be with their adoptive family. While these things are true, this is only part of the story. What do our dear ones do with the pain?  The loss? The desire to find their birth family? Birth culture? 

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Longing for likes: How to capture the hearts of Gen Z with a greater love.

Generation Z is everywhere. According to Lifeway’s Facts and Trends, those born between 1996 and 2014, ages 4 to 22 at the time of writing, now make up 24.3 percent of the U.S. population. That’s more than millennials (22.1 percent), Gen X (19 percent), and baby boomers (22.9 percent). This largest segment of the population is longing to be affirmed, to be loved. The trouble is that they’re seeking love where it cannot be found. Just log in, and you’ll see.

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