A perspective on… Faith, Orphans & Adoption
How many steak lovers are there out there?
There’s just nothing better than firing up the grill, throwing on a couple of juicy steaks, pairing it with your favorite Cab, and enjoying a nice dinner.
It’s even more fun to watch your kids enjoy your “cooking skills,” savoring the flavor, and asking for more. A few nights ago, my wife and I served up a dish called “Steak Tuscan” – and the kids were eating it up quicker than we were.
However, during our meal, my wife and I had an epiphany… one of those ‘a-ha’ moments. Our youngest child, who we adopted from China, would probably never have tasted steak had she not been adopted. She was lucky to get a few portions of rice mixed with some protein powder while she was in the orphanage.
As she ran around the table and asked, “more steak please,” we just paused and gave her a big, tearful hug. I’m sure she didn’t know what that was all about, but she politely hugged us, and went back to enjoy the flavors of Tuscany.
We then began to recount all of the things that both she and her older adopted sister have enjoyed recently… ballet and jazz dance classes, a ton of friends… not to mention three meals a day, medical care, plenty of clothes, opportunity for an education, and a roof over their heads.
Adoption changes the world… it changes it one life at a time.
It changes not only the lives of those adopted… it changes the lives of the families they come into.
You may not know this, but Sunday, November 7th is considered to be “National Orphan Day” and the month of November as a whole is “National Adoption Month.”
The United Nations has reported that the number of orphans needing help around the world now sits at 140 million.
That global crisis is felt here in the United States as well, as over 120,000 children wait to be adopted out of the foster care system and into healthy families.
That’s not the way God envisioned His creation.
There were no orphans in the Garden of Eden.
However, once mankind took the plunge of rebellion, the perfection of Eden was lost. One result… the lack of love for humanity to care for one another the way God originally designed us to live.
It did not take long for God to address this. As part of the “Torah” or “Law” that God gave to His people, there were provisions to care for those who were most vulnerable in a broken society – widows and orphans.
People ask all the time, “Why doesn’t God do something about all of the problems humans face? Why doesn’t God step in and help the orphans in this world?”
Well, throughout the scriptures we find that God has done something… He has given a response… and that response… is us.
We are the means that God wants to use to take care of the broken pieces of our society. We are the means that God wants to use to love those who are cast away and forgotten.
According to scripture… to love an orphan, to care for them, is to literally fulfill part of God’s plan, His mission, and His design for humanity in this broken world.
Some… like Jani and I… have chosen to adopt. But that’s not the only choice.
Others… may choose to support those who adopt (as finances can often be the greatest fear or obstacle to adopting). Beyond that, people may choose to support organizations that minister to orphans, or they may volunteer at an orphanage, or simply pray for those who do foster care – we all know they need it! There are a variety of other ways to be God’s hand of love into the lives of these children.
Regardless of where you are on that spectrum, let me give you some helpful websites and organizations which will help you in your journey. Here are three I highly recommend…
• “Show Hope” - www.showhope.org.
• Cry of the Orphan - www.cryoftheorphan.org
• Hope for Orphans - www.hopefororphans.com.
My personal favorite is “Show Hope,” which was created by Christian music artist, Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth. They adopted three beautiful girls from China, and created an organization to assist others who wanted to adopt by providing scholarships and helpful information along the way.
Jani & I received a scholarship from them a few years back to help us with our own international adoption. Through that connection, we now give to “Show Hope” each month to help others experience the joy of what we’ve experienced.
You see, for a follower of Jesus, life is not about “going-to-church” on a Sunday morning, getting “fed” (often times, just getting “fat”), and checking a religious thing off our list. A follower of Jesus is someone who desires to be God’s presence in this broken world… extending His kingdom into the hurting places in our society.
And one of those places is in the world of the orphan. That’s faith and values… integrated and lived out in this very real world.
Who knows, maybe some of you may feel lead to pursue adoption, to take a leap of faith, to do the seemingly impossible…
… and in just a few years you may have a little one running around the table, asking, “more steak please.”
~ Pastor Steve, Eaglebrook Church.
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