Am I An Adopter?

​I previously wrote about the book Theo of Golden and how it touched my life. Many others have done the same. And I love that even now, people are still describing their own relationship with the book.

Oprah Winfrey recently hosted Allen Levi—author of Theo of Golden—on The Oprah Podcast. As part of their conversation, she invited musician Walker Hayes to share his thoughts on the book. He too shared that the book touched him in a powerful way.

He said, "Theo to me is an adopter, kind of like God is. And it made me want to adopt every single person I meet."

My beliefs about God say this is true, that God has indeed adopted us all. No matter our size, shape, color, flaws, or insecurities—God looks at each of us and proudly declares, oh how I want you to be my child.

It is also true that in the book—Theo of Golden, the main character, Theo, lives a life committed to adopting people. And in many cases, people others might not be as willing to adopt.

What I find myself wondering this morning, after listening to this conversation between Allen Levi and Oprah and Walker Hayes, is how freely do I long to adopt every single person I meet?

How unconditionally?

For it is one thing to call myself an adopter, it is quite another to actually adopt.

It is one thing to adopt the adoptable, it is quite another to show up at a park bench, day after day, to celebrate strangers who often bring with them lives full of hurts and brokenness.

God's greatest call on my life is to adopt all.

This fictional character, Theo, lived out this call in Theo of Golden as faithful as anyone I've read about or witnessed in a very long time.

And it has me wrestling this morning with some heart and soul troubling questions:

Am I an adopter?

And is there anything in my life I need to strive to better be?