By Rev. Stanley James
American writer James Thurber once said, “All men should strive to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why.” We run from something because we are searching for something. In our post-pandemic culture, it seems everyone is searching.
Google receives billions of page visits, suggesting that we either have not found what we seek or do not recognize that we already have. What are we looking for — and why? In an internet-driven world overflowing with information, why do we still need Bible doctrine?
Doctrine is a core teaching that shapes what we believe and how we live. Biblical doctrine reveals God’s truth and helps us understand His will. One powerful truth is the doctrine of adoption: Through Jesus Christ, God welcomes believers into His eternal family.
Theologian Augustine is often associated with the idea that the human heart remains restless until it rests in God. Adoption speaks to that restlessness. God does not merely wait for us to find Him; He has loved us first. As 1 John 4:19 says, “We love him, because he first loved us.”
Ephesians 1:5 says God predestined believers for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ. The Greek word for adoption is huiothesia, a compound word commonly understood as “placing as a son.” In the Greco-Roman world, adoption established a person as a legally recognized member of a family, with a new status, rights, and responsibilities. Paul uses this familiar picture to communicate a profound spiritual reality: Through Christ, we are brought into relationship with God as His children. Adoption is more than a feeling; it is a new family standing.
So, we need not keep searching as though what our souls need is somewhere beyond Christ. When we turn from the world to what we have in Him, we discover that our deepest need is met in Jesus. Paul writes in Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Our deepest need is not another possession or another answer. It is Christ Himself.
Rejoice in the spiritual adoption we have received through Jesus Christ. Consider the story of a family who lived in poverty during the Great Depression, unaware of what lay beneath their property. One day, an oil company representative knocked on their door seeking permission to drill. The land proved to hold a vast oil deposit. They had lived as though they were poor, not knowing the wealth beneath their feet. (Antandrus, 2009)
What a picture of our lives in Christ! We can live spiritually impoverished while failing to recognize the riches of belonging to God. Stop searching as though you are still outside the family. Through Jesus Christ, you have been welcomed home.
Rev. Stanley James is senior pastor of True Vine Baptist Church in Brandon, as well as an author and community leader. He and his wife, Cynthia, are the proud parents of Candice, Cameron, and Jordan, and are blessed with one grandson, Carson, and a daughter-in-love, Mo.
