For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

-Romans 8:14-17

I’m going to let you in on a secret. My wife and I were almost adoptive parents until we were blessed with our daughter last year. We had all but given up on having children of our own, so we were starting to look into adoption options shortly before we discovered we were pregnant. One friend was even encouraging us to investigate foster-to-adoption programs, herself having fostered several children prior to having her own daughter. The thought was both daunting and humbling, and we found we had to get our hearts into a certain place before we could seriously pursue the option.

In adopting a child, you are taking one who is not your own and investing in them as if they were. You are giving of your time and resources to provide for one given up by another. You are giving the gifts of love and family to one without those things. It is a great sacrifice. The risks and the unknowns involved can be overwhelming, and it is a leap of love relatively few people are willing to take.

This, however, is what God has done for us. He has brought us in from the cold and loneliness of sin. He makes us joint heirs of His promises. He reaches out to all of us who have willingly separated ourselves because of our sin. He restores us, and He provides of us. So on this day where we honor our earthly fathers, let’s not forget our heavenly Father, who has adopted us out of darkness and who has provided an eternal home for us at His side.