If you’re a young adult, maybe a young single, and feel like marriage or children is worlds away from your current situation, then adoption might seem totally irrelevant or out of reach. But here’s why you should think about it and pray about it starting right now.

GOD ADOPTS

The heart of the gospel is that God knew our weakness and sin and chose us anyway, to adopt us into his family as his children. Ephesians 1:3-7 says this:

^“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”

Verse 5 says that God “predestined us for adoption“. This means that before we existed, God knew we would sin, and that our sin would separate us from him and put us outside of his family, and yet he chose to adopt us into his family through faith in his Son Jesus. Abortion is normal in our culture, and adoption is rare. The culture of abortion says “I don’t want you, you’re going to cost me too much, so you die for me”. This is the opposite of the gospel. God the Father says “I choose you, I want you!” Jesus says “I’ll pay the price for your sin, and I’ll give my life for yours!” And verse 4 says that his motivation was love. He loves us.

The beauty of the gospel is that weak, broken sinners can have a hope and a future by being adopted into the family of God by faith in Jesus. As believers in Jesus, “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba! Father!” (Gal. 4:6). God adopts. He is continually bringing people into his family through spiritual adoption, by faith in Jesus Christ, as the gospel goes into the world. As the people of God we must not only reject a culture of abortion, but promote a culture of adoption.

A WORLD OF ORPHANS 

There are over 150,000,000 orphans in the world, who have lost 1 or more of their parents. There are 18,000,000 “double orphans” who have no parents and no home at all. That’s 180 Superbowl stadiums of orphans. Our world is full of orphans, and our God loves them. Just as God has spiritually adopted us into his family, and given us a new identity as “Christian”, we are able to extend that love to the world and bring orphans into our families and homes as our own children. Here’s what Russell Moore (@drmoore), author of Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches, has to say to our churches:

When we adopt “and when we encourage a culture of adoption in our churches and communities” we’re picturing something that’s true about our God. We, like Jesus, see what our Father is doing and do likewise (John 5:19). And what our Father is doing, it turns out, is fighting for orphans, making them sons and daughters.

PRAY ABOUT IT NOW

Even if you are young or single, start praying now. Read God’s word and think about adoption. When you plan out your life and your goals and your dreams, consider offering to our world of orphans what God has offered you in Christ: a permanent, loving family. Pray about it.