Why Adopt? Part 1: The Basics

Lindsey (my wife) and I are adopting a wee one from Ethiopia (ET).  Lots of folks are asking why, how, and all sorts of questions like that.


I'd like to answer the more common questions for folks.


Why Adopt?


We have two biological daughters, Makayla (3.5 years) and Addison (13 months).  About six months ago, before we attended the adoption hearing of our friends, I felt compelled to share with Lindsey that I was open to adopting.  Her face lit up as she shared that she had a burden for adoption for months.  So, we started the process of discussing and praying about adopting.


A few verses that made it easy for me to want to adopt:


James 1:27  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.


Here I feel it's blatantly laid out that ministering love to the unlovely and weak is a Christian imperative.  Does this mean that all are called to adopt?  Certainly not.  The LORD calls us to our own ministries.  But for me, this Scripture hit me in my deepest parts, and I couldn't shake it once I viewed it as a potential adoptive father.


John 14:18  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.


Here Christ lays forth one of the most tender, sweetest images of the Father's love for us.  His chosen are His adopted children.   


Matthew 18:5  And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.

This is just one more example in the New Testament where Jesus sets forth the principle that ministering love to defenseless people is serving Him.

So, there's plenty of Scriptural justification for adopting.

Even more, I believe with all my heart that bringing someone into your home completely of your own accord and taking care of them as your own is an amazing sign of love.  Short of laying your life down for them, I can't think of any more radical a display of love.