I have so much on my mind and heart. I’ve been reading as much as I can. There is so much I don’t know about adoption, about Africa and about God’s heart for orphans. Chris and I truly want to share this journey with others. Our hearts, minds and perspectives are being radically rearranged by God through this process. There is a song by Hillsong United that says:
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart from what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
Even before we began the process of adoption, that lyric “Break my heart for what breaks yours” always stood out to me. What an amazing life that would be to have my heart so aligned with God’s heart, that my heart would break for the things that He is concerned about. Through this process, Chris and I have become more and more aware of the suffering, poverty and loneliness in our world. In the past, it has been difficult to wrap our brains around all the devastation in the world and our loving God. What I have come to realize is that God has a solution for the hurt, hunger, pain and poverty in the world. It is me. And you. The Bible mentions orphans, widows and aliens (or strangers) more than 60 times. In the Old Testament times, God commanded His people to provide for these groups of people.
Deuteronomy 24:17-22: True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment in pledge of her debt. Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I have given you this command. “When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all you do. When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don’t go over the boughs twice. Leave some of the olives for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. This also applies to the grapes in your vineyard. Do not glean the vines after they are picked, but leave any remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command.
We aren’t all farmers, harvesting crops, but the principle should remain. We are to leave some of what we have to others. God holds a special place in His heart for forgotten people. If we are seeking after the heart of God, inevitably, it will lead us to them too. There is verse after verse after verse that instruct us to love, to give, to clothe, to feed, to visit.
James 1:27: “Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us.”
Matthew 10:8: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
1 John 3:16-18: “We know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters. But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help — how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions.”
Matthew 25:31-46: “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. Then the King will say to those on the right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ And the King will tell them, ‘I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons! For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me anything to drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me no clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ And he will answer, ‘I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
For me, the passage in Matthew 25 is the most compelling because Jesus says that on the day of judgment, He will separate those who will enter into heaven from those who will not by what they did for the poor, hungry, and imprisoned. That’s hard-core! He isn’t messing around. It is not an option. For Chris and I, adoption is part of how we will fulfill this command. Now, I know that not everyone has the ability or calling to adopt an orphan. However, there is so much more that needs to be done. The more I learn about the heart of God and the more I learn about the vast number of people in this world who are suffering while we stand by and do nothing, the more convicted I become. I am realizing that adopting one or two or five orphans is still not enough. It is now my heart’s desire to tell others so that they too can truly be Christ to the world. Edmund Burke says, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
As we are researching and learning about adoption, we have come across many great organizations that are reaching out with the love of Christ, not only to love, but also to clothe, provide clean water, medication and skills to give people “hope and a future.” As I come across these organizations, I want to share them with you, so that you will know and do and be Jesus to a hurting world.
The first organization is called Drawn from Water, which was started by a couple who visited Africa, saw a need, sold everything they had and moved there to meet the need. Chris and I were so moved by what they are doing that we decided to support them monthly. We are so excited to be a part of this ministry. I could tell you more, but their amazing video will do that so much better than I can.
“It Began with Bale” from Drawn From Water on Vimeo.
By the way, the song in the video is AMAZING.
Now that I have seen
I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
Now that I have held you
In my own arms
I cannot let go till you are…
I will tell the world
I will tell them where I’ve been
I will keep my word
I will tell them
by Jenn
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