Adoption.

It’s been incredible to see the Lord open my eyes and my heart to this topic so much in the past year, or really the past nine months. Something that I thought of so black and white has developed not just shades of gray, but really every color in between.

I have learned that as beautiful as adoption was created to be, it has, like other things in this world, been thwarted, damaged, and abused as a result of the fall and our sinful nature.

But let me share with you the beauty of it first.

“God demonstrates his love for us: While we were sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:5

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ.” Romans 8:17

Let that sink in. That’s awesome and beautiful, and can totally rock the way you see adoption, as it has with me. We were all lost and orphaned at some point, but God sought after us to adopt us into His eternal family. And He did so out of love. Go back and look, those verses point straight to that. So shouldn’t we, as Christians, be the first to reach out and care for and love orphans, especially after realizing how we would still be orphans had God not adopted us? Let’s look at scripture again.

Didn’t He call his church to be the hands and feet of Christ here on earth?

“And God placed all things under [Jesus’s] feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesians 1:22-23

Didn’t He tell us that in seeking Him we would care for the least of these?

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

Didn’t He command the body of believers to care for orphans and widows?

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after the orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27

Didn’t He intend for every child to be loved for by a family?

            “God sets the lonely in families.” Psalm 68:6

In case you’ve missed it, the answer to all of these questions is undoubtedly “Yes”. And for me, realizing these truths has continued to challenge me in learning more about the Christian orphan movement, why this is important, and what I can do. It starts with being open to learning, and allowing God to open your heart to truths that may be uncomfortable in bringing you out of your comfort zone in learning how you can best care for the least of these, including the orphans and widows.

In thinking how I was going to process all of this, I decided to stop here and continue in a little series of posts about all I’m learning and working through. So here’s for the first of a couple, at least.. Enjoy!