Today I surrendered myself to God's call of adoption for my life.
It's orphan Sunday, and our church took a few moments out of the regular service to emphasize our responsibility as a church to look after the orphans and widows. Several families shared their adoption processes and their heart for the abandoned. One lady said, as Christians we can either get mad about it and say "How could this happen?", or we can go out there and do something about it. She had adopted a son from Bulgaria, and followed with, "Yeah they have a poor government, but it's not the government's responsibility to take care of these children. It's ours."
"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
Listening to these hearts of service and lips of concern brought tears to my eyes, because they get it. They grasp the Gospel. They understand that we had nothing to offer God. God planned to adopt us, and Christ was the only one who had the right qualifications to do so. We were expensive, so God had to sacrifice His only son to save us from ourselves. We were without hope in a depraved situation. Legally, our salvation had to be settled. We required transformation and a new home. We needed the inheritance of a Father who had much more than we'd ever dreamed. Now we are a part of a multiracial family, and the character of our Father rubs off on us. Or at least it should.
"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world
to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be
adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will---
to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has
freely given us in the One he loves."
Ephesians 1:4-6
Most of us would say we can't do it. We don't have the money or the time, or just the fact that we can't put anything else on our full plates, when in reality if we really looked at our plates we'd see nothing in comparison to saving a child's life. We fill our lives with things. Good things, bad things, things that matter, things that don't. We are so blessed with things in life, so we can't say that we can't do anything. We can't say we have nothing to offer. If not money, we have time. If not a place in our home, we have a place in our heart for prayer.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God:
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--
we know that we have what we asked of him."
1 John 5:14-15
So that's where I am today. I know I can't adopt now as a junior in college with multiple loans, but I can pray. And I commit today to pray for the orphans and widows. To pray for chances to serve the least of these until the Lord provides a way for me to permanently impact a child's life. He can do it, and He will do it.
"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.
So now I give him to the LORD.
For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD."
And he worshiped the LORD there."
1 Samuel 1:27-28
