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AN AMAZING FACT: While the concept of adoption is fairly common in today’s world, a new type of adoption is lesser known: embryo adoption. Embryo adoption allows an infertile couple to adopt a life beginning with pregnancy!
Today’s technology has created a number of ethical questions. One such question is what to do with frozen embryos, created as a result of infertile couples attempting in vitro fertilization. When a couple has successfully achieved pregnancy, there might be embryos left over and stored. If a couple is finished having children, they are forced to decide what to do with these embryos. Should they allow these lives to be destroyed? Or continue to pay to have them stored for an unknown length of time?
Some families have chosen a third alternative. Giving up their embryos for adoption opens the door for other infertile couples to raise these children as their own. This incredible opportunity allows the adoptive parents the chance to experience pregnancy and childbirth with their adopted child. While the child is not biologically their own and does not share their DNA, they are able to look back on their journey as a family from an earlier point than ever before.
In Romans, Paul describes a similar analogy. He points out that “it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.” God’s children include not only the physical children of Israel, but also all who have accepted the promise of Messiah. We don’t need the literal physical connection, the DNA as it were, to be part of God’s family. When we accept Jesus’ gift of salvation, we are adopted into His family!
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Romans 9:8
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