Central Abbotsford

As many of you know, my wife Andrea and I have four children. Our oldest three are biological kids, and our youngest, Neïva, who is six years old, joined our family via adoption from Haiti. If you have been around any of our services, you will likely have seen her. She may even have run into you during dinner or dessert! If so, I’m sorry. I do what I can, but my energy is no match for that of a first-grader.

On the topic of the first grade, this week, Andrea and I shared the experience of many an elementary school parent in October: a field trip to the pumpkin patch. Mercifully, this year’s trip was on an unseasonably warm Monday (which happens to be our regular day off together), so we trucked our way out to Greendale Acres to try to shepherd a couple dozen small children through a corn maze en route to picking out the perfect specimen for a Jack-o-lantern.

In order to fuel the day’s events, when we all arrived, the kids sat down in a circle to eat their lunches. Andrea and I took up position standing behind Neïva as she downed her bespoke meal of chili and seaweed, chatting with the teachers and educational assistants, and occasionally interjecting to keep Neïva on task.

Noticing our interactions, one of Neïva’s more curious and outspoken classmates looked at us, then at her, then back at us, and, with something of a curious expression on her face, said “how are you Neïva’s dad if you have light skin and she has dark skin?” Neïva, to her credit, took the comment/question in stride and said “I told you before, I am adopted.” The field trip continued.

I have written before in this newsletter about the theological reality of adoption for those who are in Christ. But this innocent interaction reminded me of one of the important consequences of this adoption into God’s family: we don’t always share a resemblance to our other family members. I do think that this is a good part of God’s design for His family, but it is not without its challenges!

We have been working through this reality, to some degree, in our current sermon series on spiritual gifts. Every member of the body of Christ – the family of Christ – is equally united to Him, yet differently and uniquely gifted in ways to be used for the common good of the body. Moreover, every member of the body of Christ has a unique personality, unique set of interests, unique biological makeup, unique abilities, unique skills, and so on. The point is, we don’t all look the same, sound the same, or act the same. 

This has always presented a threat to family unity. It is easy for the first graders of the world (or those whose maturity resides in the same age range) to spy out these differences. It is undeniable that there has been a movement in the world in recent years serving the goal of organizing society in such a way that we only move in circles of people who see the world exactly how we see it. I don’t mean to suggest that this is some scheme imposed on humanity or society by some external, nefarious, cabal. As inventors of evil, humans are crafty enough to self-select in this way. Much ink has been spilled about the “tribalism” present in society and politics, but at the root, people are looking for a place to “belong”, and a tribe with a defined worldview seems to be as good a home as any.

Within the family of Christ, however, we are not called to view the world exactly the same as each other. This does not mean that the church is simply a free-for-all, however. Because as adopted children of God, we are called to view Him the same way as each other. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 8:6, “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” He is Creator, Redeemer, Lord Almighty. Our lives are called to reflect this.

As adopted siblings, we will not all look the same or sound the same. We will disagree on a number of things, including how best to organize society. But, as a family united by faith in a good God, such disagreements should be in good faith. By this I mean that regardless of how we see the world, we should be able to trace our position back to God, and His glory. Put another way, if you can’t answer the question of how your thoughts or actions are honouring God truthfully, you are falling outside the bounds of good faith. If you dismiss someone else’s thoughts or actions without considering how they might be honouring Him, you do similarly.

God’s creativity is on full display in the diversity of His family. Although we are all made in His image, since we are not Him, we only display parts of who He is. Let us, as a church family, be encouraged by this, secure in the knowledge that the One that unites us as sisters and brothers is much greater than anything that could threaten to divide us.

In His name,

Eric