We live in a culture that uses the word “adoption” pretty loosely. I have had people tell me they have “adopted” their dog. I understand what they mean, and I know they love their pets. But biblically speaking, that is not adoption. Dogs are not adopted, and children are not adopted for a season or a holiday project.
Adoption, in its truest sense, is something much deeper. Biblical adoption is the legal act of bringing someone who is not part of your biological family into your family permanently. It is not symbolic, temporary, or partial. It is complete.
Understanding that definition helps us better grasp the weight of what God has done for us. Every person who becomes part of God’s family does so through adoption. When we begin to understand what that really means, it positions us to stand in awe of his grace.
Why Adoption Resonates So Deeply
There is a reason adoption language stirs something in us. Recently I saw Cinderella pop up on Disney+, and it reminded me of how strongly I reacted to that story as a kid. At first glance, we might think the story resonates because Cinderella becomes a princess, but I do not think that is the real reason.
The story is powerful because she is not treated like a daughter. The favoritism shown to her stepsisters feels wrong. Even as children, we sense the injustice. We know something is off, and we feel the weight of it. Why? Because deep down, we understand something about belonging. If you are a daughter in the family, you should receive the full rights and blessings of that family. There should not be favoritism between children who share the same name. We intuitively know that adoption, if it is real, must be full, and Scripture confirms that instinct.
From Slaves to Sons
In Galatians 4, the apostle Paul gives us a picture of what spiritual adoption means. He explains that in a wealthy household, young children and servants might look very similar from the outside. An observer might not be able to tell who truly belonged to the family. But there would come a defining moment when the father publicly declared his son to be the heir. Up to that point, the child lived under authority like a servant. After that moment, his identity and status were unmistakable. Paul says this is like our spiritual condition. Left to ourselves, we are enslaved to what he calls the elementary principles of the world. At the heart of those principles is a belief that we must earn our way into God’s favor.
Across cultures and religions, people instinctively try to work their way toward God. They strive, perform, and attempt to prove themselves worthy. But the gospel tells a different story. Galatians 4:4–5 says that when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son to redeem those under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. We do not earn our place in God’s family; rather, we receive it. That moment, when someone trusts in Christ, is the moment they step fully into their identity as a son or daughter of God.
A Necessary Question
It is worth pausing here for a moment, because not everyone has experienced that kind of adoption.
- Are you still trying to earn God’s acceptance?
- Are you striving to prove that you are good enough?
- Are you relating to God as a judge you must impress rather than a Father who has welcomed you?
If so, the invitation of the gospel is simple. Stop striving, and trust in Jesus. Receive what you could never earn. Even when we talk about adoption, it is possible to get this backward. Some people may even consider adopting as a way to gain favor with God. But adopting for God’s acceptance is no different from any other attempt at works-based righteousness. We do not adopt to be accepted. We adopt because we are accepted.
What Adoption Actually Gives Us
When we are adopted into God’s family, we receive far more than forgiveness.
- We receive a new identity.
- We receive a relationship with the Father.
- We receive brothers and sisters.
- We receive a future inheritance.
- We receive the Spirit of God within us.
Galatians 4:6 says that God sends the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father.” That word Abba is deeply personal. It reflects closeness, trust, and security.
There is a heartbreaking reality in some orphanages around the world. Babies eventually stop crying because they learn that no one is coming. Their cries go unanswered, and this is simply horrific to me. But praise God, that is not true for the children of God. When we cry out to our Father, he hears us, loves us, and responds to us.
A Picture Close to Home
Every year on March 7, my wife, Anna, shows me a picture from the day we finalized Faith Ann’s adoption. We celebrate not only the day she was born, but also the day she officially became part of our family. On that day, our name became hers, our family became hers, and our love and care became hers. Her future inheritance became hers. She did not become “kind of” a Hopper. She became a Hopper forever.
There Are No Cinderellas in God’s Family
Here is where many Christians struggle. Even after coming to faith, some still feel like they are on the outside looking in. They wonder if God truly loves them, and they question whether they are fully accepted.
- Am I really included despite my sin?
- Am I fully loved despite my failures?
Until those questions are settled, we will struggle to understand adoption correctly. Some people approach God like they are on a short-term contract, constantly trying to prove they belong. It reminds me of players in the NBA G League who are on ten-day contracts, fighting to prove they deserve a permanent spot. The pressure is intense because their future depends on their performance. That is not how God operates.
God does not bring us into his family to see how we perform. There are no ten-day contracts. He brought us in because of Christ, not because of our performance, and that truth frees us. It frees us from fear, frees us to grow, and frees us to live as sons and daughters who are secure. Adopted people are fully in the family now and forever.
From Adopted People to Adopting People
When we begin to understand what God has done for us, something begins to shift. We move toward others the same way God moved toward us. God does not partially adopt. He does not leave a way out. He brings us fully into his family, and that becomes our model. When we adopt, we are doing for others what God has done for us. We are bringing them in fully, permanently, and without reservation.
Some friends of ours met their son Eddie on a mission trip to Ecuador. Eddie had been abandoned as a newborn and left in a dumpster. A local carpenter heard his cries, pulled him out, and took him to an orphanage. Years later, Eddie was adopted.
His father now tells the story this way: “Eddie’s story is my story as a Christian. I too was pulled from the dumpster and saved by a carpenter.”
That is the gospel.
Christian, you are blessed, favored, forgiven, and loved. You are fully adopted into the family of God, which means his name is yours and his inheritance is yours. You were not created for an orphanage; you were created for a family. In the same way, children were not created for orphanages but for families. God, in his grace, has brought us into his family, and now we have the opportunity to reflect that same grace by committing ourselves to the great pursuit of bringing others into ours.
A Final Reflection
Take a moment to consider this personally.
- What has the word adoption meant to you? Has your understanding of it deepened?
- What blessings do you enjoy as a member of God’s family?
- Where do you see yourself in Eddie’s story?
The truth is, every one of us was rescued and brought in. And when that reality settles into our hearts, it changes the way we see the world and the way we live in it.
Andrew Hopper
Want to Go Deeper? If this theme stirs something in you, we’d love for you to explore more in Pastor Andrew’s book Chosen: Building Families the Way God Builds His. You can purchase it here, or click here to learn more and download a free chapter.
