this, again, will be shared in part, partly because we 'know in part' but also because...honestly, i definitely only know IN PART.

spirit of adoption. i was leading a small group on the Father Heart of God, and was hitting on this topic, and i just got really crazy passionate about the great truth in it...it really ministered to me, because of the type of person i am

and the type of person that i am, is the type of person we all are.

and that is Wounded. (thanks, john eldredge) anyways-yeah, wounded, afflicted. we are hurt.

the antonyms of the word Adoption are Abandonment, and Rejection. i find it interesting that the connotation that goes along with adoption are the negative antonyms. we dont associate adoption with the truth of what it is, we associate it with the negativity. with rejection. with abandonment.

thats why we allll know, and use, the expression 'given up for adoption'

"...i was given up for adoption..." you know? adoption suddenly goes with the idea of being given up. rejected and abandoned.

but it's quite different in the Bible. Romans 8, Ephesians 1, they both talk about the Spirit of Adoption that God has, i guess...gifted us with. we have not been 'given up' by God, we have been 'gifted' with adoption.

(Rom 8)

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the SPIRIT OF ADOPTION [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!

The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God."

right after this he lists POSTIVES....Paul associates adoption with positives. he says, preceding this, paul writes 'we are debtors, but not to the flesh, to the SPIRIT' we are debtors, why? because of the great work that God has done for us; adoption.

then he says that we are CHILDREN, we are COHEIRS, we are more than CONQUERORS, we are WAITED FOR...these are positives, and they are motivating positives. people often use negativity to motivate, and in some cases it's necessary to use it, definitely. but there's also the power of affirmation that motivates. and this, i believe, is the motivation attached to the truth about our adoption as children of God.

so great a love, that we now DESIRE to follow after it, to submit to it, and to come underneath it, because it really is THAT great.

(Eph 1)

"May blessing (praise, laudation, and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual (given by the Holy Spirit) blessing in the heavenly realm!

Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love.

For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be ADOPTED (revealed) AS HIS OWN children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [[b]because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]--

[So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

In Him we have redemption (deliverance and salvation) through His blood, the remission (forgiveness) of our offenses (shortcomings and trespasses), in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor,

Which He lavished upon us in every kind of wisdom and understanding (practical insight and prudence),

Making known to us the mystery (secret) of His will (of His plan, of His purpose). [And it is this:] In accordance with His good pleasure (His merciful intention) which He had previously purposed and set forth in Him,"

notice the progressive list of positives (thanks, billy humphrey)

BLESSED
CHOSEN
HOLY
BLAMELESS
PREDESTINED
ADOPTED
REDEEMED
GIFTED
PLEASING to God

the spirit of adoption, given to us, is pretty much always associated with positives, speaking of all that God has done for us, causing us to lift our heads and look into Light, as opposed to negativity.

anyways-all of this leads up to another truth-

"for we are orphans, and we know not love..."

romans 8 says that we should act as children, not as slaves.

i, as a wounded young man, act out of my place of being wounded. what does this cause me to do? i try to complete myself through others. i try to complete myself through a false validation or a false affirmation given to me by 'sympathy.' when in reality i need a real revelation of my adoption-i am NO LONGER an orphan, who has to find myself in the face of everybody else

i am adopted, and i find myself in the face of God.
i am a son, and my name is written on the palm of His hand.
"i am a child of the Father, i am beloved of God"

if i REALLY get an understanding of this, then my motivations change. because suddenly i dont focus on how much God must be angry at me...but now i see Him as Father.

john 17:23 "that they would understand that You love THEM just as much as You love Me"

and this is what the Father spoke to the Son, in Love "You ARE my beloved Son, I AM pleased with You"

could it be that God speaks this over my life? that just as He loved and loves Jesus, He loves me? could i be the pearl of great price that God came to earth for and gave His very life for? would God see me as that valuable?

i am in no way making the gospel central to me, it all goes back to God, and in the end, i will be one of many singing praises to God in heaven, but even so- John wrote, 'for God so loved the world...' we all know that verse, so we are part of the story, but we're somewhere in the middle. it starts with 'God so loved (the world) so He gave'
like the Author and Finisher, the Beginning and the End, and i'm somewhere in the middle, but i'm still a part, and when it's all said and done, i may play a small or a big part, but it alllll goes back to God.

so this is the spirit of adoption-a legally binding contract that means i can never be given up.

blood sons and blood daughters can be legally disowned, but a legal son, an adopted daughter, cannot be disowned. we cannot be given up.

and another cool thing about adoption is that it ALWAYS involves choice. the ones who are adopted are CHOSEN to be adopted. you dont go adopt somebody and just say "well listen lady, i just want a kid, so go grab one and bring it here" no no no...adoption means that we were SOUGHT AFTER, we were looked for, and we were adopted because of (not just necessity) His love for us, which means we have value to God...we do somehow. figure that one out? i guess that requires more of a 'transformed mind' than i've got right now, but i know it has to be true.

chosen, adopted, loved, these are the things that become our motivations now.

i was asked today "do you ever feel guilty for not feeling guilty?" i replied, yes, in fact i feel that way right now...and then i added in a stupid joke that ruined the whole conversation. anyways-i want to clarify what i really think about that.

maybe i'm so used to feeling guilty in the world, that i feel like i should feel guilty for not feeling guilty. but...God doesn't see us as guilty. it says we are washed from ALL sin, when we confess, that He is faithful and even JUST to forgive us and to cleanse us from ALL sin...

i think there is definite difference between conviction and guilt. understanding that there are things in my life that even I do not approve of, and i in fact (though i may enjoy them or whatever) do NOT want to participate in them any longer. whether its porn, lying, being sinfully angry or violent, being a gossip...things i identify myself with

because i act like an orphan

not like an adopted, chosen son.

"for we are orphans, and we know not love"

maybe not feeling guilty is a GOOD thing? maybe it shows growth, that God is taking me out of condemning guilt and releasing me to the blessedness of conviction-a simple knowing that there are things i can work out with Him in my life, even passionately, but without beating myself up over them.

God rejoices over my steps, but He does not get ticked over my failures.

or did i miss that part in the bible?

God being pissed at me for failing is like a loving earthly father being pissed at his 3 year old for not being able to read "mere christianity" by CS Lewis.

thank you.

Jonathan