Everybody has dreams.

One of my dreams is that when Christians hear the word “adoption,” they will first think about their adoption by God. As it stands right now, most of us first think of families adopting children.

My dream, then, is that whenever the word “adoption” is spoken, our thoughts will move vertically (e.g., “God has adopted us”) before they move horizontally (e.g., “Our church has many families that are adopting”).

There are two reasons why this is my dream. First, when Scripture uses the word “adoption,” it always moves our thoughts vertically. Second, the more we think vertically about adoption the more we will think horizontally about it.  That’s the way Christianity works. As I have said many times, Christianity has a unique vertical to horizontal movement. We love because God first loved us. We forgive even as God in Christ has forgiven us.

When that day comes—the day we think vertically about adoption before we think horizontally about it—there will be a whole lot fewer orphans in the world.  This is a dream worth dreaming.