Six-year-old Juliana was taken into a waiting room and told to sit quietly on a wooden chair. Her blonde hair was cut short like a boy’s haircut. All the girls in the orphanage in Kazakhstan had haircuts like that. It made taking care of them easier for the adults. Someone had pinned a large pink ribbon in her hair. She wore a brown woolen jumpsuit that kept her warm. In winter it got very cold in the building where she lived. The children at the orphanage didn’t have any clothes of their very own; they shared everything.
Juliana’s blue eyes shone bright with hope. Was this the day that her dreams of finding a family of her own would finally come true? She didn’t remember her real parents. All she could remember was life at the orphanage. The people who worked there were nice to her, and she always had a warm bed and meals, mostly of cabbage and soup. But it was not like having a mother and father to call your own. She climbed up onto the chair and sat, folding her hands in her lap and biting her lip in excitement. She could hardly wait.
Next to this waiting room was the office of the headmistress of the orphanage. A meeting between the headmistress, who spoke Russian, and an English-speaking couple was taking place. A translator carefully interpreted all that was said. The headmistress asked the couple many questions.
The couple had traveled halfway around the world to adopt a child. They were in a strange land, and they were a little nervous and excited too. At last the headmistress was satisfied that all was in order. She said through the translator, “I am about to introduce you to Juliana, but I need to protect her from being hurt. If you are only here to look her over and see if you like her, I will introduce you as a visitor. If you know from looking at her picture and reading the information about this little girl that she is the child you want, I will introduce you as her forever-father and forever-mother. Please let me know which it shall be.”
The couple took only a moment before they replied, “We are certain we want to adopt Juliana. Please tell her that we are to be her forever-father and forever-mother.”
The headmistress motioned the couple to follow her and led them into the waiting room. Juliana stood up when they entered. “Juliana,” she said in Russian, “I would like you to meet your forever-father and forever-mother.” The little girl could hardly believe her ears. The two people standing before her were to be her parents! She was so happy she didn’t know what to say.
The headmistress led them down a hall to a large room where she left the three of them alone so they could get acquainted. The adoption process was to take another six weeks before it was completed. A judge finally wrote his signature on the adoption papers, and Juliana was able to leave the orphanage and travel to her new home.
At her new home she let her hair grow long, learned to speak English in an amazingly short time, and got a whole dresser of her very own clothes. But best of all, she had parents who promised to love and care for her as long as they lived.
Do you know God as your heavenly Father who will love and care for you always? He truly is the Forever-Father, because when this life is over He will provide a loving home for His children in heaven. The way to become a child of God is to understand that you are a lost sinner and place your faith in God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus paid a great price on the cross so that you and I could be cleansed from our sins. “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:33For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (1 Corinthians 15:3)). The moment we believe on Him, the precious blood He shed at Calvary’s cross washes away all our sins.
Do you want a home with the God who loves you? Do you want to belong to Him as His child? Then you must believe that the Lord Jesus died for you and bore the punishment for your sins. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). The Lord Jesus is a Forever-Saviour, because once you truly believe in Him, you will always belong to Him. He says, “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine” (Isaiah 43:11But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. (Isaiah 43:1)).
Juliana will discover many of the privileges that are hers in her new home. Believers in the Lord Jesus have many wonderful privileges too. Won’t you come to the Lord Jesus so that God the Father can give you all the wonderful blessings He has reserved for those who believe in His Son?
ML-02/12/2006