It didn’t take very long for our sons to take to water. They had been in an orphanage near a shore where the director took all the children for a week each summer. And they learned to swim very quickly when they started lessons while going to the swimming pool in America.

Some children naturally adapt to adoption. There are skirmishes, for sure, but nothing major. Others make major splashes in the water before deciding to swim. The difficult part is knowing our child well enough to figure out what they need from us. Part of this depends on the maturity of the child and part on their past experiences going into adoption. The issue is their trust.

We don’t always think of ourselves as adopted, but Ephesians 1:5 makes it clear that we have been adopted by our Heavenly Father. God’s choice to adopt us reflects the New Testament value of patronage. The patron chose those on whom to bestow their benevolence. They expected that they would receive the gratitude of the ones who received this (reciprocity). We owe both our allegiance and our thanksgiving to God as a result of what He has done.

That does not, however, guarantee that we will always make the right choices or obey Him. The more we realize how much we owe Him for His grace (the water in the swimming pool), the more we appreciate what He has done. We have to decide to dive or jump in, and swim in the pool! This is a transition that we need to learn to make in order to fully appreciate our adoption by God.

How do you see yourself pushing back against the promptings of God? Remember that if you believe in Him as your Savior, you have been adopted as His child! Feel free to comment in the box below.