Waiting Eagerly
Student Guide
Annie. Oliver Twist. Romanian orphans.
We’ve all seen them-visions of homeless and apparently unloved waifs looking with eager anticipation as prospective parents walk through the halls of the orphanage in search of just the right child. The silent plea, “Pick me!” is deafening.
An autobiographical obituary recounted the life of a 93-year-old woman who had been placed in a foundling home in the eastern United States shortly after her birth. She recalled as a young child being shipped on an “orphan train” to the Midwest. At each stop along the way, children would be taken off and sent home with new families. As the trip progressed and more children departed, she wondered eagerly-even anxiously-if and when she would be chosen and adopted.
Adoption is a word that bears many connotations-certainly for the birth parents, adoptive child, and adoptive parents. What about you? What comes to mind when you hear the word adoption?
Unfortunately, adoption carries some negative baggage in our society today. With the legalization of abortion on demand and the decreasing social stigma of out-of-wedlock births, many women and girls are led to believe that adoption is not a desirable choice. It is not uncommon to hear the following:
“Adoption? I could never give up my child to someone else to raise!”
“If I can’t have my child, no one else is going to have it either.”
“If I chose adoption, I would always wonder where my child was and if he were okay. I couldn’t live with that.”
“How could you do that?! How could you give away your child?”
How would you respond to the above?
Thankfully, God set the tone for the whole concept of adoption.
What do the following passages reveal about human nature and our need for adoption?
Psalm 51:5
Romans 5:10
Ephesians 2:11-12
1 Peter 2:10
What has God done about our need to be adopted?
John 15:16
Romans 5:8
Ephesians 1:4-5
1 Peter 2:9-10
Read Romans 8:18-25.
Note especially verse 23. What is this adoption we are eagerly waiting for?
Read John 1:12-13.
How does our adoption happen?
Read Romans 8:14-17.
What are the eternal implications of our adoption?
How can this understanding that all Christians are God’s “adopted” children help us influence society’s views toward adoption?
Waiting Eagerly
Not only do children eagerly wait to be adopted, but birth parents and adoptive parents wait in anticipation as well. Let’s take a look at how Hannah kept the faith as she waited for God’s plan for her life to unfold.
Read 1 Samuel 1:1-20.
What was the prayer of Hannah’s heart? What did she do while she waited eagerly? Why did Eli think Hannah was intoxicated? What was Hannah’s response? (v.15) What significant change happened in verse 18? Why? Find evidence of God’s grace in verse 19.
Read 1 Samuel 1:27-28.
What was Hannah’s ultimate faith response?
Adoption: The Loving Option
Many people assume there are “warehouses” full of children just waiting to be adopted. Some seem to think that adopting one of these children is as easy as placing an order. Not so. A pro-life Christian obstetrician reports that he has a stack of letters several feet high sitting on the floor of his office from prospective adoptive parents pleading for a child. He notes that he rarely even touches the stack of letters because girls often choose to abort or parent the child themselves, even if they are ill-equipped to do so. He wisely and lovingly counsels women and girls in crisis as he shares with them a Biblical dilemma.
Read 1 Kings 3:16-28.
Which woman was the true mother of the child? How did King Solomon know this? Why was she ultimately willing to give up her child? How might this story influence the decision of placing one’s child for adoption? Where did Solomon’s wisdom and discernment come from? (v.28) How can we avail ourselves of the same?
Can you name other Biblical characters who faced “crisis” situations? How did God use the “grafting” of one person into another family to achieve His purposes?
Welcome a Little Child
A symbol of adoption is a heart intertwined with an equilateral triangle-the child, the birth parents, the adoptive parents. It takes a special bond of love to place a child for adoption and to welcome it into one’s heart and home forever. What additional meaning does the equilateral triangle hold for Christians?
Read Mark 9:33-37 to see how Jesus welcomed little children.
What does this reveal about Jesus’ attitude toward children? How can the Church welcome little children? How can the Church support birth parents facing an unintended pregnancy and its impending decisions? How can the Church minister to adoptive parents?
Close by singing the following hymn:
What Love the Father Lavished by Margaret Mesmer
1 What love the Father lavished On us to be His own
Beloved sons and daughters, Heirs of His heavenly home.
Predestined by the Father, Adopted by His will,
Redeemed by Christ the Savior, His purpose to fulfill.
2 We all were undeserving, In Adam’s sin conceived.
But by our faith in Jesus A new life we received.
For we were lost and homeless And helpless in our sin
Till God Himself through Jesus Reached down and took us in.
3 What love the Father lavished On us to be His own;
Not by our works or merit But by His grace alone.
What joy we shall inherit As His, for we shall be
Like Him in resurrection And His own glory see.
Texts: 1 John 3:1-2, Ephesians 1:5
Tune: Missionary Hymn (LW #322)
Used by permission.