Actually, it’s not breaking news at all. Everyone knows that Joseph adopted Jesus. Mary and Joseph both knew that Jesus was special. Placed in Mary’s womb for a purpose that they both had to trust. After all, God spoke to them directly. Do you think it was still hard to deal with him as a child? He was quite precocious. He was always eavesdropping on the adults, or in other words, ‘Getting right in the middle of grown folks’ business. And on more than one occasion he ran away without permission and was outwardly defiant. How do you think Mary and Joseph might have behaved towards Jesus if God had not spoken directly to them? Surely they would have not ‘spared the rod’ right? Can you imagine Jesus being beaten by his parents? Perhaps they would have scolded him for running off to eavesdrop on the adults. Can you imagine Joseph smacking Jesus in the mouth upon him saying, ‘I know that these thy words are not thine: nevertheless for thy sake, I will hold my peace: but they shall bear their punishment.’ Actually, he did grab and twist his ear, but this was when Jesus was still young. Over the years it seems as though both Mary and Joseph grew into their understanding of their child, such as when he was a teen and ran away for three days. After searching frantically and finally finding him, his response, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” This was probably not quite what many parents would’ve cared to hear. Nevertheless, they made it through and their child grew into a remarkable man. More than remarkable actually but the Savior.
My question is this, “Would you parent differently if you knew that you were raising the Son of Man?”
I suspect most of us would. We would be much more loving than fearful. We would recognize when we were stressed and we would take time to calm ourselves. We would recognize when our child was stressed out, fearful, and needing certainty and guidance. Again, we would strive to be much more loving.
God placed your adopted child in your home. Is the way you are raising God’s child the same way that he raises you?
If you are struggling to find joy and peace in raising your adopted child or feeling like there is something missing, perhaps even at wit’s end, there is a different way. I would like to offer you a free book From Fear to Love: Parenting difficult adopted children. You only have to pay a very small shipping and handling charge. To have the book immediately shipped to your doorstep please visit www.maryandjosephparenting.com Love is the answer.
Bryan Post, an adopted and former foster child is one of America’s Foremost Child Behavior and Adoption Experts and founder of www.PostInstitute.com The love-based, family-centered principles and concepts offered by Bryan have been taught to more than one million parents and professionals around the world. You can receive a free copy of his best-selling adoption parenting book From Fear to Love by going to https:///www.feartolovebook.com Currently Bryan serves as Clinical Director for Parents in Training, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, providing wraparound services to adoptive families throughout Northern California. To learn more visit www.theleafcompany.com
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