I want to tell you about Joanna Grace.  That is not her real name, at least not yet. Her real name is… No, that’s not important because that is part of who she was. What is important to us is who she is becoming.

Our daughter and son-in-law are in the final days of adopting a 3 year old from China. It has been a long, frustrating process for them, but in just a few days we will welcome our newest grandchild, Joanna Grace. I am sure that little girl has no comprehension of what will become hers in a few days with a new name and a new inheritance.

I have been adopted into the family of God. Therefore I have the rights and privileges of a son, just like Jesus. The intimacy that was broken by Adam’s sin has been restored through the blood of Jesus. Just as Joanna lived the first three years of her life with no knowledge of my daughter’s family, so I had lived my life apart from Christ. But now I have been adopted into a new family with the rights and privileges that come with that adoption.

Just as Joanna did not seek out my daughter’s family, I did not first come to God seeking salvation. He first sought me out offering it to me. I may not be the choice of the world but I am the choice of God. When someone asks me who I am, I can say, “I’m one of the chosen.” “Oh, chosen by whom?” “God.” “Really, when?” “Forever.” “Why?” “It had nothing to do with me. There was no me when God decided it.” I am temporarily living in the earth but I am a citizen of heaven.

Ephesians 1:3-8 (NLT) – “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.” Let’s take a quick look at some of the key spiritual blessings referenced in this passage:

• Chosen: My daughter looked through hundreds of profiles from dozens of countries before choosing Joanna. God had you and me in mind since before the creation of the world. No one is a mistake or an accident, despite what someone might have said. My mom was 42 when I was born. A surprise, yes, but not a mistake. It doesn’t matter what a miserable life we may have had: rejected by family, abandoned by loved ones, betrayed by friends. In Christ each of us is chosen.
• Adopted: I have been brought into a new family with its rights and privileges. Through adoption, I am a son of God. This is not a relationship of “Oh, Heavenly Father, high above the earth in unapproachable light!” but it allows me to cry out “Daddy!” and run into His arms. That is the meaning of “Abba” in Romans 8:15b (NLT): “You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, ‘Abba, Father.’”. Let’s not pass by that statement without thinking about it. To the first century reader it was a radical concept. God had never been addressed in such a personal way.
• Grace: One of the translations of the Greek word for grace is empowerment. In Christ, I am empowered to live a new life, empowered to break the bondage of sin and empowered to impact those around me with the Gospel.
• Purchased: Other translations use the word redeemed. That means bought out of slavery to sin and given freedom through Jesus’ blood. When my future was the hopelessness of death and damnation, God picked me up and set my feet on a new course.
• Forgiven: Jesus took upon Himself the punishment for my sin so that I can stand before the Father holy and without fault. In other words, righteous. Because of His sacrifice in my place, I am forgiven.

2Corinthians 5:17 declares that I am a new creation. What do I receive as a new creation?

• A new name. In Biblical times great emphasis was placed on the meaning of a name. Hosea named his children as a means of prophesying against Israel. He named one Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”); the next he named Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”). Just as Joanna received a new name so also Revelations 2:17 promises those who are victorious will receive a new name. “I don’t feel very victorious.” The Bible tells me that in Christ I am victorious. (Romans 8:37(NIV)) The walk of faith means I believe the promises of God regardless of my feelings.
• A new family. Colossians 1:13 (NLT) tells us, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” Just as Joanna is being brought into a new family, in Christ, I too have a new family in a new kingdom. I am no longer in bondage to the bitterness and defeat of the past but I now come to the Father as my daddy. Who I was before is gone, wiped out.
• A new inheritance. Romans 8:17a (NLT) promises, “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.” Joanna is entitled to an equal inheritance with her new brothers and sister.  I may not receive a great inheritance of money or land, but my inheritance as a joint heir with Christ is untouchable, unchanging, and inexhaustible.
• A new destiny. I once was destined for hell. My destiny now is heaven. Ahead of Joanna lies opportunities that could not be imagined in a remote Chinese orphanage. I can get far too focused on the here and now and lose an eternal perspective. Life comes with trials. “We must pass through many troubles to enter the Kingdom of God,” (Acts 14:22 GNT)  Endurance is based on perspective. If I focus on just today, I can become discouraged and defeated. An eternal perspective reminds me that the present troubles fade in the view of heaven.

Has Joanna’s past left scars? Certainly, and they will take time to heal: scars of loneliness, rejection and hopelessness. The promised land was a land of rest where God promised His people would receive “large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant”. (Deuteronomy 6:10–11 (NKJV)) but the scars of their life as slaves kept them from having the faith they needed to enter.  I have a new destiny, a new relationship with my Heavenly Father and the family of God. I can choose to enter or, like the Israelites, wander in a wilderness of despair and hopelessness. “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:11 NIV)

My heart breaks for the thousands upon thousands in orphanages around the world, many in abject poverty and deprivation. The problem is overwhelming but the life of one little girl will be changed forever because our daughter is willing to make a tangible sacrifice. There is a story of a little boy who came across thousands of starfish washed up on the beach. He began throwing them back into the water when an old man came by. The old man said, “Look at all those starfish. Do you really think you can make a difference?” The little boy picked up a starfish and said as he threw it into the water, “I can make a difference for this one.” Where can I make a difference today? I may not be able to impact the world but I can impact one life.

Let me tell you, my daughter has become an amazing mom. I know of no one more dedicated or self-sacrificing: home schooling four kids, laundry, meals, ball games and practices, constant demands and constant stress. And she always does all this with a cheerful attitude? Well, I said she was amazing, not perfect. God isn’t looking for perfection; He is looking for growth. At the end of the day, can I say I’ve grown closer to God that day? Has it been a day of progress or retreat? Have I pressed toward the goal of His high calling?

Hebrews 12:2 describes a great cloud of witnesses that is cheering me on in my earthly race. That is my family, not just my mother or father, but the family of God, the one I was adopted into when I made Jesus Lord of my life. That place is secure.

“The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.” (Proverbs 4:18 NLT) Joanna is beginning a new path. I too am challenged to continue my pilgrimage through this life fulfilling God’s purposes and drawing closer to Him each day, knowing that I am a son of God, a joint