God's perspective of adoption

My sister sent me a link to a sermon she read about adoption by John Piper (thanks Riss!), and I finally got a chance to read it on Friday. It shares a great perspective about God's view on adoption, and Dave and I talked a lot about it after we finished reading it. One of the points says that adoption is done for God's glory, and His glory only. Wow, I don't know if that is always my thought on the adoption. I think I often feel like the adoption is there for Dave and I to become parents.

This is the one of the verses that John Piper is talking about in his sermon:

(Ephesians 1:4b-6) In love 5he predestined usfor adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

I think one of the main ideas that I gathered from this is that we are adopted by God through Jesus in order to glorify God. I used to think that idea was a pretty selfish idea of God's. But reading through this sermon, Piper made a good point. We humans were created to appreciate God's glory, his beauty. Anything less would leave us feeling like we have something missing in our lives. Adoption is one of the most beautiful things that God has done for us, and I am excited to experience this, and get an even better idea of how much God loves us.

Dave's favorite part of the sermon was:

"Our aim is not to take a child’s low views of self and replace them with high views of self. Rather our aim is to take a child’s low views of God and replace them with high views of God. Our aim is not take a child with little sense of worth and fill him with a great sense of worth. Rather our aim is to take a child who by nature makes himself the center of the universe and show him that he was made to put God at the center of the universe and get joy not from seeing his own tiny worth, but from knowing Christ who is of infinite worth. We adopt to lead a child to the everlasting joy of making much of the glory of the grace of God."

Wow, what eye opening words from Piper. It really got us thinking about removing ourselves from the center of the adoption and returning God to the middle of building our family.

So that's where we are at now. What a difference from last week. I'm going to have to remind myself of this often, not only throughout the adoption but while parenting, and in every day life.