Over the past few years we have been increasingly convicted of the church's call to care for orphans in the world and been increasingly burdened personally for the plight of the fatherless. We have set out to care for orphans in other ways through child sponsorship and by teaching and preaching the roll of God's people in caring for orphans in our local congregation. Dan has led the church to partner with an orphanage in Haiti and will lead groups there annually to minister. But God didn't leave us at those things. He continued to stir in our hearts and point our family toward adoption.
We studied God's word to better understand his heart for the fatherless and what he commands to the church to do. The more we look at our own spiritual adoption the better we understand the powerful eternal impact that those " ex-spiritual orphans" who have been brought into God's family can have in the life of a fatherless child brought into a physical family. Through adoption we have the chance to share the life giving message of the Gospel and mirror our spiritual adoption through welcoming a child into a family.
We looked at our lives and our family and found that we truly feel we have more room in our hearts and family for more children. When we thought about adoption we asked ourselves "Why not us?". We are truly excited to grow our family through adoption and hope to experience more of our God through this journey!
Here are just a few passages in Scripture that either demonstrate God's heart for the fatherless, make clear our call to care for them, or speak about our spiritual adoption as children of God.
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
James 1:27
"He defends the cause of the fatherless... "
Deuteronomy 10:18
"Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."
Isaiah 1:17
"... those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that make you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry 'Abba, Father'. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
Romans 8:14-16
"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families..."
Psalm 68:5-6
"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
Matthew 25:40
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