ADOPTION Romans 8:15 (NLT) - “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’” Adoption is not something new. It has been around, either formally or informally, probably for as long as human history. In ancient times, it may have been largely informal as a consequence of the parents dying and relatives or friends taking in the children. But because inheritance laws, especially as they related to land ownership, it would come to be formalized. By the time of the Roman empire, even the emperors would adopt people into their family. What was the basis for their adoption? It did not typically have anything at all to do with blood relationship. Bear in mind that many of the Roman emperors declared themselves to be divine – and so they wanted to embellish their images. So, when they adopted, they adopted those who were the most promising, the outstanding and mostly brilliant and likely to succeed. Here’s the kicker. It was the poor and slaves who primarily responded to God invitation to become his sons and daughters. He doesn’t exclude anyone, so it’s not only the most likely to succeed who are invited, but also the ones most likely to fail (based on our track records as humans)! It says a lot about the kind of God we have that He didn’t choose just the most outstanding candidates to be His adopted children. His love and compassion knows no bounds, no limits, and it is open to anyone who will accept His gracious invitation. If you think you’re not worthy or good enough to become a son or daughter of the One True Living God – you’re right. But neither am I. None of us are. But God offers us all adoption because of His love. Revel in the truth of your adoption today! It’s what changes the way we address Him from just Master, to Father!