Sitting in the new worship center at NEHBC this past week I could not help but notice the different ways in which we worship. Some sing aloud while others prefer to read the lyrics and focus on their meaning. Some are animated, clapping or raising hands and tapping feet, while others are docile, often closing their eyes and becoming more internal. During the sermon it is the same. We have those who sit quietly and listen, and we have those who prefer to interact with proclamations of “Amen!” or “Praise God!” After noticing these differing approaches, I began to think about the diversity of our church family. Pastor Nathan has often pointed out that NEHBC has people from all walks of life, different countries, numerous seasons of life, and many backgrounds and cultures. Yet, we all join together to lift up the name of Jesus and glorify Him as Savior and King before the world. I love it!
This is just another reason I am excited about our call to adopt a child from another country, race, and background. The Wheeless family is being given an opportunity to paint a picture of God’s family for the world to see, and we are getting to do it in two ways. First, through the adoption itself, and second through the diversity that will be part of our family.
Paul uses the illustration of adoption to describe our relationship with God in Romans 8:15-17. As believers, we have been set free from sin, have been adopted by the Creator of the universe, have the privilege of calling him Father, and will receive an inheritance with Christ in heaven. The deep concept of adoption here must not be missed. When Paul wrote this his readers would have understood it clearly. The one who was adopted took on the name, customs, and heritage of his adopting father. Wherever the child went from that day forward he was recognized as a member of his father’s family and was expected to represent that family in all he did. It is the same with us. Believers are God’s children, bearing His name, taking on His righteousness, and conducting His business before the world. Our child will take our name, learn our traditions, embrace our background as his own, and he will be known as one of us. We will certainly teach him or her about their place of birth and hopefully will be able to take them back there once they get older, but his identity will not be wrapped up in his past. Instead, it will be defined by his entrance into our family as he is loved and embraced as one of us regardless of his past. This is why adoption is such a beautiful picture of the gospel. We too have been taken from a hopeless past and given a glorious future with our Father and his family for eternity.
The diversity within our family is also another opportunity for us paint a picture of God’s family. The adoption doesn’t make the Wheeless family diverse because we are already diverse. Gender, different likes and dislikes, passions and interests, and individual callings from God make our family, and your family, diverse. Adopting a child from another country simply adds to our diversity. When you consider what heaven is going to be like, this makes the diversity in our families and churches a powerful picture of the family of God. John tells us that in heaven there is a countless multitude of believers from all tribes, peoples, nations, and languages standing before the throne of God singing praises to him (Revelation 7:9-10). All of us get to be a picture of heaven here on earth when we worship with our families and when we gather with the church. The Wheeless family has been blessed with the privilege of embracing a child of another race and nationality as one of us. What a huge responsibility and joy to be a picture of heaven on earth!
Our December newsletter is available. If you would like to receive a copy and learn inside details of our adoption and how you can pray for us, email me and I will send you a copy: twheeless@nehbc.com
