When I think of orphans, I think of my grandpa. When he was two his mother died, and his widower father was no longer able to care for the children. So his father turned him, the youngest, over to an orphanage. Four years later, a family came seeking a little girl to adopt. But whether through a six-year-old boy's charm or through divine intervention, my grandpa once again became a son and a brother. Adoption took him out of an institution where orphans shared in being alone, and put him into a home where they shared everything together as a family.
The illustration of adoption is a good lesson for the beauty of God's work of claiming us as His own. The Apostle Paul tells us we have been adopted by God and are now heirs of His divine promises (see Romans 8, Galatians 4). But what are we to make of our lives when it seems that, despite our faith or church membership, we are alone in the world? If you have ever felt isolated, cut off, or singled out, then you know what it is to feel hopelessly alone, as if God Himself has turned His back on you. In times like these, we can remember one of the Christ-child's names: "Emmanuel"-God with us. And indeed, only once has God ever turned His back on His own, as the grown Christ exclaimed from the cross, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Thus, the Father rejected His Son for our sake. Jesus died alone so we would never be alone. Adopted into God's family with Christ our brother, and led by the Holy Spirit, "by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'" (Rom. 8:15), we have hope. This time of year reminds us that because of Christ, we will never be alone.
THE PRAYER: Father in heaven, we believe You are with us and You will never leave us nor forsake us. Remind us this Advent that the coming of Your Son is a sign of Your presence in this life until life everlasting. Amen.
Written by Pastor Joseph Eggleston
Peace in Christ Lutheran Church
Walkersville, Maryland
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