Adam and Eve, like Esau, sold their birth right for some food. They rejected their place as God’s children despite the fact they were the spitting “image” of their Father. They became self-proclaimed orphans and surrendered their inheritance only to be raised by wolves in the wilderness outside Eden. God, grieved by their absence, set in motion one of the most amazing adoption plans ever devised.

Adam and Eve’s offspring continued to try and establish their own makeshift family systems. Estranged from their real Father, they experimented with an endless series of earthly Foster Homes. They tried to make it work but always ended up being shipped back to their wilderness orphanage. Periodically, they would gather together to meet the next prospective adoptive parent. They would bathe, comb their hair, and display their best behavior only to find they weren’t interested. Despite their whitewashed exterior, the potential parents sensed the rebellious hearts of the orphans and knew that they would be nothing but trouble. Sadly, they had exceeded the age of prime adoptability and became restless wanderers, sojourners, and pilgrims travelling the earth in search of a loving Father.

One particularly dark and tremulous day, there was a gentle rapping on the orphanage door. The attendant peered out the peephole and was surprised to see a potential adoptive Father. He invited Him in and told Him He was free to walk the grounds and speak with the residents. The Stranger noticed the orphans were unkempt, smelly, and perpetually fighting, like sheep without a shepherd. Moved with compassion, He wrapped His arms around them, pulled them in close, and whispered, “Today you will live with Me in Paradise.” Arm-in-arm with the orphans, he then walks up to the main office and says, “I’ll take them all.” Stunned, the attendant asks Him if He knows what He is getting Himself into, and He replies, “Dead certain!” The manager pulls out the paper work and asks for His signature. The stranger pulls out his red pen and writes, “It is done,” in large, indelible, crimson letters.

The orphans, stunned at being adopted, see their old lives flash before their eyes and ask their new Father how He could possibly have enough room for so many old souls with closets full of sinful baggage. He says, “I no longer see you as old men, I see you as new creations, reborn of water and Spirit, heirs to my Kingdom.” He then offers them a warning, “growing up in my family won’t always be easy. You will need to peel back the feral fingers of fear that gripped you while you ran with the wilderness wolf pack and learn to rest in My palm, where I assure you, no one will snatch you away. As you grow and develop, you may bang your heads against the cultural furniture as you learn to crawl, you may bruise your heels as you take your first steps onto the gravel of temptation, and you may experience teething pain as you leave the milk of spiritual infancy and begin the solid food of the Gospel. Sadly, even beyond the bumps and bruises, you will also experience ridicule because of your new family name, but fear not for your new home awaits. You will always have a place to lay your head for I have already prepared a room in my mansion, and as you stroll the grounds, even in the dark, be assured that I’ll always leave the Light on.”

We were justified when Jesus signed the adoption papers.
We are sanctified as we achieve the developmental milestones unique to a child of God.
We will receive our inheritance when we enter His Heavenly Mansion.