Speaking about adoption a
pastor said, “Did you know that by law when you write a will you can disinherit
your children…but that you can’t disinherit an adopted child? God choose us. We
are adopted and we cannot be disinherited.” Paul wrote in Ephesians, “For he
chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in
his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his
sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in
the One he loves” (Eph 1:4-6 NIV).
4 comments:
My question would be "Are you speaking as a theologian or a lawyer?" Being an Arminian, I would disagree with the first and question the second. Interesting point if valid. People often overlook the fact that we become children of God by adoption.
Grace and peace.
Pumice,
The pastor indicated that this situation arose and he dealt with it personally, but he didn’t elaborate. He appeared to be taking a secular situation and making a spiritual application. However, such laws can differ from state to state, so it may not be applicable everywhere. I can understand why he didn’t elaborate more…who wants to expose that in times of frustration we’ve all had thoughts of disinheriting the bad apple of the family.
Gail
Gail;
-----Lawyers.com disagrees with the good pastor as to all states except Louisiana. There, neither biological nor adopted children can be disinherited. My last inclination is to take legal advice from preachers. My next to last inclination is to be immediately receptive of the rest of what they have to say. It isn’t that I don’t like them or that I disrespect them. It is just that the evidence strongly indicates they do not know as they ought to know. What’s the evidence? Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Nazarene, Seventh Day Adventist, etc., etc., etc. is plenty evidence for me. The Bible says things. The only way you can come up with so many different idea-bearing groups is by discounting things the Bible says to place premiums on other things it says. Sorry. That’s not my game.
-----Paul says we see dimly as in a mirror. I would rather see clearly as through a magnifying glass. But, being that it’s the Word of God saying “…dimly…” then dimly is good enough for me. And what that means to me is that any conclusion I draw from dimly seen evidence can be no more than tentative. The more the evidence clears, the less tentative the conclusion becomes. And when conclusions can only be tentative, possibilities become the certainty. The more tentative my conclusion is, the more possible becomes different conclusions. Therefore, where my information is incomplete or not clear, I don’t really think in terms of “conclusion”, I think in terms of possibilities and probabilities. Then I give God the praise and admiration and worship for His knowing in certainty.
-----So I’ve been called wishy-washy more than a few times. And this is ok. For me, the underlying substance of my relating to Christ Jesus, His Father, and His Spirit, as I pondered it carefully then chose it to be, is desire. That is because desire is completely mine to aim at whatever I choose to aim it at. I don’t have to be right or wrong about what I aim it at. My aim is mine regardless. Therefore, I choose to aim it straight at knowing Christ’s Father through Jesus precisely as He is and His Word precisely as it is. It is fine with me that I will not have many certain conclusions, because when you aim your desire to know things precisely as they are, His Spirit lights up truly astounding possibilities. And to me, they’re worth a whole lot of wishy-washy.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
P.S. I’ve also noted that most problems folks have with “wishy-washy” is that the wishy-washy one is much, much less inclined to join their group think. And I have more than little respect for group think. I have great disdain for it. Look at what it has done to our Lord’s body on earth. Look at what it has done to politics. Look at the wars it creates, the deceptions, the bullyhoods. In my estimation, the mind of antiChrist is made of group think. The mind of Christ is made of a sincere desire to be right tempered by the sincere humility of knowing that being right is brought to us, not made by us, and it only comes later in its completeness. So, why fight now? Good discussion, yes. Quarreling, squabbling, and disputing, no.
Steve,
Good fact checking and feedback!
Gail
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