Adopted

It's been a busy week and I can't believe it's Thursday already, but I wanted to write some thoughts about Trent's message in church last Sunday. He used the examples of Oliver and Annie to talk about how we were all orphans, but God adopted us and gave us all the rights as His children, and we are part of a new family.

When I think of orphans I immediately think about how most of the superheroes are orphans. Think of the example of Superman: Kal-El was born on Krypton shortly before it was to explode (stories differ on what caused the explosion, but that's not important to the story). His parents, Jor-El and Lara, only had a spaceship large enough for one baby (it was a prototype and they didn't have enough time to build the full-sized one), so they sent him to Earth where they knew he would be taken care of. He was adopted and raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent and named Clark. He was a Kryptonian, not a human, but when he was adopted he not only became part of the Kent family, but of the human race.

For Bruce Wayne (Batman) it was different. As a boy Bruce saw both his parents shot to death right in front of him. He still had the butler, Alfred Pennyworth, to take care of him as he grew up, but he never became part of another family. Instead, he separated himself from any relationships and devoted himself to fighting for justice in Gotham City. It wasn't until he took in Dick Grayson (Robin/Nightwing), another orphan, that he found family again. Bruce didn't become a doctor like his father, but Dick became a crimefighter like his adopted father.

Other superheroes are orphans, too (e.g. Peter Parker/Spiderman), and they all have their own stories about finding their roles, but I'll leave it to you to see the principles for yourself.

Trent also pointed out that as Christians, and the children of God, we are expected to take on the family business, which is searching and sending for God's glory. I've never been big on the whole "family business" deal. For instance, I always thought "What if Richard Smucker doesn't want to make delicious jams and jellies when he grows up?" However as a Christian, part of the Church family, I am glad that I know what I am supposed to do!