A GRACIOUS ADOPTION

A GRACIOUS ADOPTION

March 26, 2006

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

Galatians 3:26 – 4:7

I was so amazed – I had no idea this would happen. Pat and I arrived in Glasgow for our sabbatical and we began the tour the next day. Now, I knew about the Maxwell castle, called Caerlaverock in Dumfries, in southwest Scotland. It is a shell of what it once was, but fascinating to me nonetheless.

But I was unprepared for the tour guide’s announcement that we were going to a Museum in Glasgow on an estate that once belonged to the Maxwell’s. In fact, he told us that the estate house was still there, was fully furnished, and available for visiting.

Needless to say, I wasn’t interested in the museum! Given only an hour, I made my way instead to the “Pollock House,” as it is now called. It is a stately mansion, with beautiful gardens

and very impressive furnishings.

As I made my way into the entranceway of the estate house, I was greeted by gentleman. He asked me if I wanted to purchase a ticket to tour the house, but I had to decline, not having the time. I told him I was very interested in Pollock House, however, because I was from the States and my name was in fact Maxwell. “Oh, you’re my boss, then,” he said to me. And I quickly responded, “Yes, I am, now please take me to my room!”

I thought to myself later, how wonderful it would’ve been to not only have the name of Maxwell as I do, but to be the heir of that estate as well! Well, in our passage for this morning, we find again the importance of name, family and inheritance.

So far, in our Cross-centered Life series, we’ve seen that, when we come to believe and trust in Christ, several things begin to happen and are set in motion. We are justified, declared not-guilty in the sight of our divine Creator and Judge. A relationship of right-standing with God now exists, the God whose love for us is constant, so that we can not only be saved by grace, but live by grace as well.

We also discover that there is now a family that we belong to. All the distinctive barriers that people put up are taken down as unity is found in Jesus Christ. In Paul’s day, it was a radical statement to say: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Radical – but true!

We also discover the wonder of being a child of God, receiving the gift and grace of adoption, and the inheritance that goes with it. Here, Paul uses terms and situations common to the first century in order to get across the wonder of all of this. For example, he speaks of a kind of slavery that existed for the Jews to the Law, and that existed for the Greeks in turning to meaningless religions. But then, when the time had fully come, all the promises, prophecies and predictions came true. “God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” The enslaved became adopted sons and daughters through faith in Jesus Christ.

Now, Paul uses “sons” for the reason of the day in which he was living. In his day in the Roman world, a male child or even an adult male of upstanding character could be chosen for adoption by a childless couple. This way, the family name could continue as well as the passing on of the estate.

The main point is then this: a gracious adoption occurs for all who trust in Christ. Slavery turns to freedom, a solitary life to family life, and having nothing to having everything, having been made an heir by Almighty God.

And in addition to all this, “Because you are sons (and daughters), God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’” God sends the Holy Spirit into our hearts and into our lives, and nurtures a relationship of intimacy with the Father.

WHAT A GRACIOUS ADOPTION CAN MEAN.

Now, there are many implications of what it means to be adopted by God. As our affirmation of faith this morning, we read together a portion of the Westminster Confession of Faith on the subject of adoption, which says in part:

Those adopted enjoy the liberties and privileges of God’s children, have His name put on them, receive the Spirit of adoption, have access to the throne of grace with boldness, and are enabled to cry, Abba, Father. They are pitied, protected, provided for, and disciplined by Him as a father. They are never cast off, however, and are sealed until the day of redemption and inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation. [i]

While we cannot cover all of these, even though each and every one of these is worthy of our time and attention, let me address the line indicating that we “are pitied, protected, provided for, and disciplined by Him as a father.”

The fact that God cares so deeply for His children that we are “pitied, protected … provided for” is not always affirmed by us, quite frankly. And yet the compassion and kindness, the protection and defense, the provision and supply of our needs are not restricted from His children. Often, the fault lies in us, in that we fail to look for and observe the signs of His care.

Even so, there will be occasions when our gracious Father in heaven will send some kind of special message reminding us of His love and care. Brennan Manning, in The Ragamuffin Gospel, tells the story of what happened to one woman. [ii]

He was directing a three day silent retreat for six women in Virginia Beach. As the retreat began, he met briefly with each individual and inquired as to what she would most like to receive as an expression of God’s grace. A married woman in her mid-40’s and a devoted follower of the Lord, she indicated to Manning that she wanted to experience – at least once –some tangible expression of God’s love. Manning assured her at that time that he would join her in prayer regarding this.

The following morning, she arose before dawn and took a walk on the beach. She walked along the seashore, allowing the chilly water to go up to her ankles. As she walked, she looked and there off in the distance, some one hundred yards away, was a teenage boy coming her way and a woman coming some 15 yards behind him.

In less than a minute, the boy had passed by her, but the woman made an abrupt turn toward her, embraced her warmly, kissed her on the cheek, whispered in her ear “I love you,” and then continued on her way.

Now, she had never seen this woman before, and she would never see this woman again. It was a most unusual expression of God’s love, compassion and care, so much so that when she got back to Manning’s house and knocked on his door, smiling, she could only say to him, “Our prayer was answered.”

In reflecting upon God’s gracious care for His children, Frederick Buechner has this to say in The Magnificent Defeat:

For what we need to know, of course, is not just that God exists, not just that beyond the steely brightness of the stars there is a cosmic intelligence of some kind

that keeps the whole show going, but that there is a God right here in the thick of our day-by-day lives who may not be writing messages about himself in the stars but in one way or another is trying to get messages through our blindness as we move around here knee-deep in the fragrant muck and misery and marvel of the world. It is not objective proof of God’s existence we want but the experience of God’s presence. That is the miracle we are really after, and that is also, I think, the miracle that we really get. [iii]

Dear friends, the fruit of a gracious adoption is the miracle that God is compassionately involved in our lives, providing, protecting, interacting in ways that are for the very best of His children.

And that will include something else the Confession mentions: God’s children are “disciplined by Him as a father.” Here, we must not equate discipline with punishment, for Christ bore such punishment upon the Cross for our sake, in our stead. Discipline here is instead a matter of teaching, shaping, and forming us into the likeness of Christ.

Sometimes it will come by allowing us to face the consequences of our own poor decisions.

Sometimes it will come in a way unrelated to decisions we’ve made, through difficult circumstances or challenges that are daunting. Sometimes the discipline of the Lord will come, forcing us to see something about ourselves we would rather not see, rather not acknowledge. He does this, you know, because He loves us. We are His children.

Oh, but quite honestly, many of us squirm a bit when it comes to this subject. We aren’t really all that comfortable with the thought of this “discipline.” We want to know instead exactly what’s coming our way, on our terms, you know. We want to have the whole picture in view, so there’ll be no “surprises.” But there’s a real problem, here, isn’t there.

When John Kavanaugh, the noted and famous ethicist, went to Calcutta, he was seeking Mother Teresa … and more. He went for three months to work at “the house of the dying” to find out how best he could spend the rest of his life.

When he met Mother Teresa, he asked her to pray for him. “What do you want me to pray for?” she replied. He then uttered the request he had carried thousands of miles: “Clarity. Pray that I have clarity.”

“No,” Mother Teresa answered, “I will not do that.” When he asked her why, she said, “Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.” When Kavanaugh said that she always seemed to have clarity, the very kind of clarity he was looking for, Mother Teresa laughed and said: “I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.” [iv]

Dear friends, receiving our gracious adoption will never mean being in a position of total clarity. Only God Himself sees the whole picture and knows the whole picture. But what it will mean is trust, trust in a heavenly Father who has already given us of His very best in the Person of His one and only Son.

We may not have full clarity as to what exists “around the corner,” but whatever it is, our heavenly Father will use it for our good, and for the glory of His own goodness.

Oh, what a gracious adoption there is for those who place their faith in Jesus Christ! There is a love that is deep and wide and high and long, a love worthy of our trust, from the very beginning to the very end, and to a new beginning that will have no end. Amen!