A Few Words from Baba (Ernie)...

So Michele and I are in to our 2nd full day here in China. As I type, it is mid-morning Sunday and we just finished breakfast. We both are doing well, though that whole jet lag thing hits mid afternoon.

 

Michele and I met a couple from Pennsylvania yesterday who has just adopted their daughter from China. She is an adorable 3 1/2  year old little girl who has a beautiful personality and a magnetic smile! She has bonded well with her family.

 

We have wondered how MJ will take to us. There is always a fear that, though you have prayed for this little person for years, she will freak out when she is handed to us.

 

MJ's caretakers have been refering to Michele and I as, "Mama and Baba". She has seen our pictures, she has recieved our gifts, yet there is still a part of us that wonders how she will do tomorrow.

 

I watched the couple from Pennsylvania and their daughter and I am in awe of how she adores her new "Mama and Baba". Even this morning while getting ready my mind was already fixed for what lies ahead tomorrow for Michele and I and our little girl. And with that, I was compelled by the picture that Romans 8:15 paints-

 

 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"

 

The Bible paints a dim view of man apart from grace and redemption. Without it, I am a lost pitiful orphan that stands as the object of God's wrath (Eph.2:3). Yet, as desperate and dead as I was, God the Father made me alive with Christ. Where I once stood opposed to the friendship and forgiveness of my heavenly Father, now I am embraced by His favor. Where I once was in bondage to fear, failure, and sin, now I am accepted by God through His Son's work on the cross. Through this work, I have been chosed by God to be His son. He has extended to me all the benefit of being His child because He has adopted me. No work or reward would ever merit such favor yet, just as I was, He did not leave me Fatherless-He came to me. And now, I can approach His lap with confidence to recieve mercy and grace in my time of need...because I am His adopted son!

 

I love it when my two boys call me "dad". There is something special when they crawl up into my lap, look into my eyes, smile and say, "Daddy!" It makes my heart feel "fuzzy"! The power behind having children that love their dad enough that they would call his name in the most intimate manner is special...indescribable...powerful. And how infinantly more does our Heavenly Father welcome us to whisper His name, "Abba Daddy". Take some time today, approach Him with confidence and call Him "Dad"...He loves that!

 

And who knows, by God's grace, tomorrow I'll have a little girl hop into my arms and whisper, "Baba!".