A Very Merry COVID ChristmasSample

Praise God—You Are Adopted

Did you know that Caesar Augustus was adopted? The same Caesar Augustus who issued the decree that sent Mary and Joseph back to Bethlehem was adopted by his great-uncle, Julius Caesar.

In Roman culture, adoption was a bit different than what we normally think of today. In the 21st century, we most often adopt children because we can’t have children of our own or because we have compassion on children who lack a stable home. But back in the 1st century, adoption was often connected not to family love but to family legacy. If you didn’t have a suitable heir to your throne, you would adopt a deserving adult in order to pass on your hard-earned name and wealth.

Julius Caesar did this very thing before his assassination in 44 B.C., making his great-nephew, the future Caesar Augustus, his adopted son and heir. Julius saw him as a worthy man to take over the throne.

That cultural background makes Paul’s words praiseworthy: “In love [God] predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (Ephesians 1:4,5). God’s plan was to adopt you into his family. This was his pleasure and will, the thing that made him happy.

I’m not sure about you, but I’m no Caesar Augustus. I’m the guy who picks up his phone to check my digital calendar, gets distracted by new text messages, and puts the phone away without ever having checked the calendar! But my unworthiness, mentally and spiritually, didn’t stop God from wanting to adopt me as his son.

Christian, the same is true for you. You are adopted. Not because God was a lonely man who couldn’t have children of his own. Not because God was dying and needed a worthy heir. You are adopted because it simply made God happy. 

What a thought, huh?

During the holiday season, we’ll see a hundred images of families. Mary holding her newborn son, Jesus. Holiday cards from Shutterfly in the mailbox. Family pictures posted on Facebook. Loved ones will gather together, even in this COVID world, to share meals and memories. Maybe this year those relationships can spark our minds to remember what Paul, a single and childless man, loved to remember—he had the greatest family of all.

You do too. You are a son or a daughter of God. Your Father is the CEO of the universe. You are going to be okay, even when the world seems to be spinning out of control.

Sleep in heavenly peace tonight, my adopted sibling. God’s got it. Our Father is working out all things for his children. 

And that is what you are.