The “Abba” Cry and the Gospel of Adoption

I mentioned the current Russ Moore cover story in Christianity Today entitled “Abba Changes Everything: Why Every Christian Is Called to Rescue Orphans” (pp.18-22) a couple of days back.  The piece (now online here; thanks, JT) merits more extensive quotation, though you’ll need to read it to get the full drift.  Here are a few more lines worth pondering.

Adoption as mission:

“Adoption is also mission….Without the theological aspect, the growing Christian emphasis on orphan care too often seems like one more cause wristband for compassionate conservative evangelicals to wear until the trend dies down.” (p. 20)

What true love looks like:

“Love based on the preservation and protection of genetic material makes sense in a Darwinian–not a Christian–view of reality.” (p. 20)

The sole commonality of the gospel:

“What would happen if the world saw fewer “white churches” and “black churches,” fewer “blue-collar churches” and “white-collar churches,” and fewer baby boomer and emerging churches, and saw more churches whose members have little common except being saved by the gospel?” (p. 20)

Perhaps my favorite:

“The demonic rulers of the age hate orphans because they hate babies–and have from Pharoah to Moloch to Herod to the divorce culture to malaria to HIV/AIDS.  They hate foster care and orphan advocacy because these actions are icons of the gospel’s eternal reality.” (p. 21)

On how adoption and evangelism work together to create a missional culture:

“A conscience that’s burdened for orphans, rather than seared over in the quest for more stuff, will be burdened for spiritual orphans.  A church that learns to love beyond the borders of biology will learn to do mission outside the borders of geography.” (p. 22)

This one chills your blood:

“The universe around us is creepily silent–like an orphanage in which the children no longer believe they will be heard.  But if we listen with Galilean ears, we can hear the quiet desperation of thumbs being sucked, of cribs being rocked.  As we welcome orphans into our homes, we can show the orphaned universe what it means to belong to a God who welcomes the fatherless.” (p. 22)

This is a provocative, moving, and richly theological article.  It’s now online (you can also buy the latest issue of CT).