Controversy

Here recently I have found that the word controversial is a great descriptor for Adoption. Google 'adoption' and you will not only find many agencies willing to aide you but many articles and blogs against the idea of adoption. And when we first started this process I found myself getting lost in the pro's and con's everyone had to share. I would finish an article weeping and wondering if this choice of ours was the best option not only for this child but for our family as well. Then in the next moment I would read a blog of an adoptive child, now an adult, sharing the joys, blessings and love that came from their parents and adoptive home. It is no wonder that this topic is so controversial with all of the opinions floating about. But in the end I always came back to truth! Your opinion, my opinion the world's view and the billboard off of Grant Street will not last any length of time nor will it stand the test of time as truth. But the Word of God will last forever. And  the Bible say this about Adoption...


Exodus 2 says Pharaoh's Daughter adopted Moses (pro)
Esther 2 says Mordecai adopted his younger cousin Esther (pro)
John 19 we see Jesus hanging on the cross and as He looks down and sees His own mother and the disciple that He loved He tells them both to look upon one another as mother and son. Verse 27b says "and from that hour that disciple took her to his own home." (pro)


Adoption is not a foreign concept. Nor is it written with a bad connotation in the Word of God. No! In fact we as believers have been adopted. Romans 8:15 says, "So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children." I don't know about you but this verse makes me want to shout and scream praises at my God. That he loved me enough, chose to show his glory through me and adopted me as one of his own. That I am a co-heir with Jesus Christ!!!! 


Now while Scott and I accept and believe all of these things as truth, the world and sadly even some believers can still find the negative in adoption. And while the subject is still controversial I'm glad!!! You may be rereading that last statement questioning my sanity but I believe Jesus was controversial. The bible even today is controversial. Why should my life and choices be any different? Why shouldn't my family stand out? Not for our glory or sake but for HIS!


Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevation church wrote a blog about being controversial, here is a brief passage.


"They're so afraid of upsetting anyone that they compromise their message and the unique calling God has placed on them. They avoid criticism, which no one likes to receive. But they forfeit something far greater:
Influence. You can't have influence if you are not willing to be controversial.


Just ask Jesus. People in Jesus' day sharply differed on their opinions of Him. Wherever He went, people loved Him. And loved to hate Him. They flocked to Him to hear Him preach and see Him heal. But also to argue with Him and accuse Him of being the devil.


Jesus was controversial."


And this is how I leave you. I want my life to be controversial. I want others to look at me and wonder what is different, what separates her and her family from the world? What do her life choices say about her beliefs and convictions? Because these questions give me direct access into their lives. These questions allow me the wonderful opportunity to say I do it all for Jesus! The love I give, the choices I make and the impact I am able to have is only through HIM! All praise, honor and glory belong only to the one true risen god, Jesus Christ!!!!