I love when families decided to adopt or foster. It's an amazing calling that challenges my wife and I to do the same. The Christian community is so passionate about saving babies from abortion. This is great and we should be passionate about it. However, we often miss the mark when it comes to adopting/fostering these children into our families.
What prevents families from adopting? I believe there are many cost that families consider that ultimately may prevent families from adopting. Financial, time, examination and emotional cost to name a few. Financial cost varies from $5,000-$40,000, depending on international or domestic adoptions. The whole adoption/fostering process can take a long time. There are mountains of paper work to do and classes to attend. Your life and house becomes an open book for social workers to examine, this can be very disrupting and stressful. From what I hear it’s a very hard and tedious process. In any case it is hard to add an additional child to any family. Not to mention an adopted/fostered children can come with all sorts of behavioral and emotional baggage. To say the least adoption/fostering is costly and on a surface level very daunting.
What prevents families from adopting? I believe there are many cost that families consider that ultimately may prevent families from adopting. Financial, time, examination and emotional cost to name a few. Financial cost varies from $5,000-$40,000, depending on international or domestic adoptions. The whole adoption/fostering process can take a long time. There are mountains of paper work to do and classes to attend. Your life and house becomes an open book for social workers to examine, this can be very disrupting and stressful. From what I hear it’s a very hard and tedious process. In any case it is hard to add an additional child to any family. Not to mention an adopted/fostered children can come with all sorts of behavioral and emotional baggage. To say the least adoption/fostering is costly and on a surface level very daunting.
I've been thinking for a while now about the cost of adoption. Why would God make adoption so costly? Why is it such a draining process? Doesn't He want more people to adopt? Then it hit me, adoption has never been cheap. Adoption is supposed to cost us. From the beginning God knew in order to have sons and daughters in a sinful world, it would cost Him (Gen. 3:15). God, in His perfection could not have imperfect children. He would have to make them perfect, someone had to be the object of His wrath, to take upon His perfect punishment (Hebrews 5:7-10). However, no object or sinful person could fulfill the need for a perfect object of wrath. Therefore, God came into this world as a man, lived the perfect life, considered Himself nothing, was put to death on the cross and died as the perfect sacrifice for His children (Philippians 2:8, Hebrews 10). Jesus, felt the fullness of the Fathers wrath (Isaiah 53). On the cross the ultimate cost of adoption was paid (Galatians 3:23-4:7)! I am awed by God's willingness to extend His love to me so that I can be called His son. Adoption/ fostering must be important to the church because it is important to God. He gave the ultimate example of sacrifice and paid every cost for those who are His.
The more I understand the gospel, the more God’s heart for adoption/fostering becomes apparent. I firmly believe the Church is to be actively adopting/fostering. Some people can’t physically adopt but can financially help parents who are trying. Maybe you can’t help financially but can help through free baby sitting! Maybe you can help with fundraising. Whatever your calling is, consider what it cost for you to be adopted as a son or daughter of our great Heavenly Father.
The more I understand the gospel, the more God’s heart for adoption/fostering becomes apparent. I firmly believe the Church is to be actively adopting/fostering. Some people can’t physically adopt but can financially help parents who are trying. Maybe you can’t help financially but can help through free baby sitting! Maybe you can help with fundraising. Whatever your calling is, consider what it cost for you to be adopted as a son or daughter of our great Heavenly Father.
May God be glorified.
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