Adoption and the Gospel

Kit and I have always planned on adopting as part of forming our family. Since we already have two and know that it is coming up, we thought we'd better start planning for the future since it can be such an involved and expensive process. Especially with the prospect of moving overseas, we know the more prepared we are now, the easier it will be when we're ready to start the process.

A friend of ours, who recently adopted from Ethiopia, told us about a conference put on by "Together for Adoption." http://www.togetherforadoption.org/ So we decided to go and find out as much as we can. Not only did we receive all the practical advice and information we need, but we were incredibly challenged in terms of how we view adoption in light of the gospel. The main sessions were lead by various speakers, most of whom are church leaders who've adopted one or more children. They all pointed out the sad truth that as followers of Christ, WE should be caring for the orphans/widows of the world, and not relying on the government. The early church did this and it was a testimony to everyone around them of the change Christ had made in their life. Not only does the bible touch on the subject, but Jesus clearly commands us to do this. So why have we forgotten? Why do we rarely hear about this subject in our churches today?

Deut. 24 reminds us that we were all once in slavery but God has freed us! Therefore we should care for the orphan and widow who are oppressed and forgotten. Multiple times in Deut. God tells His people that not only should they not take advantage or abuse the orphans/foreigners/widows, but that they should provide for them. (the second thing we should do after tithing!) But are we really doing this? And by not caring for the orphan, aren't we abusing them? As followers of Christ, we are much of the world's representation of Christ. So if we ignore the fatherless and needy, what are we saying about our Father?

Another strong point I remember (we were really tired the whole time so much of the truths we learned are still a little fuzzy in my brain) was that we are not adopting to become a child's savior. We are adopting the fatherless because we have a Savior in Heaven and our adopting is an extension of the love that we receive from God adopting us into His family. What better way to share Christ with the world, or to share Christ with one individual than to show them that God is the Father to the Fatherless and He uses His people to care for those in need.

Orphan care is a huge need in this world because in reality, not every orphan will be/can be adopted. But what orphan's lack is a home/parents, so what better way to meet their need than to give them a Christian home? As with all social ministries, we can meet their physical needs but if we don't tend to their spiritual, emotional needs, we're only putting a band-aid on the real problems of this world...a need for Christ.

But the good news is...the church in America (and other parts of the world) are confessing of their sin and taking on this blessed responsibility and unique opportunity to make a difference in a young person's life. In Denver, several churches have set a goal to reduce the number of foster children that are ready to be adopted (800+) by 10% within two years. They've already reduced the number by 200! I'm no math wiz but I know that is better than 10%. So here are some numbers for you... In the USA there are 500,000 children in foster care! 130,000 of those are ready to be adopted NOW! And the amazing thing is, it is practically free to adopt out of the foster care system. (With tax refunds from the state and US gov't.) Many states are now giving free state tuition to any state school for orphans in attempt to break the cycle. The cycle I'm referring to is the high likely-hood that our foster children will end up in prison and/or on drugs within two years of getting out of the foster care system (70-80%). Many of which will have unplanned pregnancies and their children will end up back in the system. If every CHURCH in America fostered/adopted just ONE child each, we'd have churches lined up to adopt and waiting for kids! Not every believer is able to adopt, but many are and everyone is able to support those that do.

Now those statistics are scary but look at the international statistics...163,000,000 (yes that's million) orphans in the world! 15 million of those are orphaned because one or both parents has HIV/AIDS. Most of these orphans are in countries whose orphanages are struggling just to meet their basic needs, much less give them the nurturing they need to grow up emotionally healthy.

Want to hear something that puts us to shame?? In Zambia (one of the highest % of orphans per population) 50% of their orphans are orphaned b/c of HIV/AIDs. But what should shame us is that 75% of homes in Zambia are taking care of at least one orphan! 75% of homes in Zambia, and these are mostly unbelievers! IF 75% of Christians in America took in an orphan...we'd not only take care of our country's orphan problem, but would drasticly effect the world's. And not to mention the impact that would have on our society as they see the love of Christ in a tangible way.

So that is a snapshot of the challenge we received this weekend. I hope you're challenged as well and pass it on to others. This is an issue that has been ignored in our churches for far too long, and innocent children are hurt and neglected because of our disobedience to the word of God. Just key word search "orphan" or "fatherless" on biblegateway.com to read more convicting scriptures on the subject. But only if you're willing to respond in obedience to what God is telling His followers to do.

If you want to learn more about what you can do, check out some of these websites:
http://www.togetherforadoption.org/

http://hopefororphans.com/Display.asp?Page=home

http://www.compassion.com/