Open Adoption
Continuing the theme of family images and the church, my wife and I recently inquired about adopting a child. We were given an application form/questionaire to fill out, and many of the questions dealt with “open” adoption. This is when the birth family stays connected and involved in the child’s life after the adoption process is finalized. As it happens, my opposition to many of the principles of “open” adoption were a big disqualifier for us, and at this point it looks like we won’t be enlarging our family.
I’m afraid that many Christians approach our adoption as sons with a preference for “open” adoption. They’re pleased to be invited into God’s family, and are anxious to realize the benefits of their new relationships. Unfortunately, they also want to maintain contact with their destructive “birth family” and eventually compromise the faith to which they have laid claim.
The reason we need adoption is that we need a change of family. Trying to have the new while keeping the old not only insults the charity of the new family, but also undermines the very foundation of the adoption.
