Orphans~no excuses

Orphans....what do we do about them? If we are Christians, the bible is FULL of scriptures pertaining to taking care of orphans in both the Old and New Testament.




1.God calls Himself the Father of the fatherless.

· Psalm 68:5, “A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation.”


2.God considers spiritual service the purest when His people are taking care of orphans. (and) A religion that does not care for orphans is no religion at all.

· James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.”

3.God’s people are commanded to care for orphans. To see an orphan afflicted, and to turn a deaf ear, is sin, even rebellion.

· Exodus 22:22, “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.”

· Isaiah 1:17, “Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

· Isaiah 1:23, “Your rulers are rebellious, and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless.”


4.We can be the hands and love of Christ Himself by providing practical care.

· Deuteronomy 10:18, “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.”

· Psalm 10:14, “But You, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.”

· Matthew 18:5, “Whoever receives a child in My name, receives Me.”

· Matthew 25: 45, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of the least of these, you did it unto Me.”


5.Orphans are to be taken care of with the same honor and provision as a Pastor or Priest.
· Deuteronomy 14:28-30, “The Levite (priest), because he has not portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.”


6.A portion of all that we possess is sacred and belongs to the orphan.

· Deuteronomy 26:12-14, “You shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments.”



So what is our response? For many Christians, the response has been to do nothing....but what will we do when we stand before God on that day of judgement? I never heard a sermon ever about the respondabilty of taking care of the orphan in ALL my years of churchgoing... I had one friend who had adopted a child and I'd read a few articles about the plight of orphans... God help pastors to see beyond their four walls and talk about things that will make people uncomfortable.

Adoption is not easy. Your life is looked into, your parenting abilty questioned. It is expensive, travel is not comfortable, it COSTS, it COSTS alot, no doubt. But what is a human life worth? It is not an easy road. Soemtimes once the child gets home, it is very hard. If you are adopting internationally, chances are your child will have some issues. They maybe older, have been malnurished, may have attachement/bonding issues, physical issues...You probably won't get a nice clean smelling child who is perfect. You'll probably get a dirty smelly snotty child with diaper rashes and tummy issues....but guess what? That child will be perfect to you.

So what should you do? for some, there are reasons ( age, medical history, mental health or past criminal history) that would keep them from adopting....BUT if you don't have a barrier, you should seriously consider adoption. When you stand before God, you won't be able to say "it just wasn't the right time, we didn't have the money"

It's never been the "right " time for us, we've never had the money before we stepped out in faith to do it! If we can adopt ANYONE can! If you are one who has a valid excuse, then give to someone else who is adopting or help raise money for a waiting child to have a grant but if you don't have a valid reason....then do it!

People want to say "you have to be called to adopt" I don't believe that. The bible doesn't tell us to wait for a calling, it commands us to take care of the orphan. Granted I've felt a special connection with Shad and Sarah since the moment I saw their faces in a picture BUT that doesn't mean tht soemone has to have a calling. Selah was our surprise...I didnt' feel really drawn to her picture like I did to Shad's and Sarah's but she is our girl now both legally and in our hearts. It was more of a step of faith to adopt her. At first when we lost Seth, we thougt we'd just adopt Sarah and resisited all efforts of others to get us to pick another child. But we decided on Selah because she needed us. We both had reservations (not at the same time thank God) but we committed and then the love came...and it came in waves for our funny little girl with the unknown diagnosis!

Those scriptures are very weighty and other than my husband, I've nver heard a minister base a sermon on them! Soemthing is wrong there....

Do don't argue with me, argue with God, if you dare. I didn't write the book!

Maybe you are in a situation where your spouse does not want to adopt, all I can say is pray that God will change his/her mind!

Maybe you think you are so poor you have nothing to offer a child. Their are financial guidelines in some adoptions (international) but in some ( like thru the State Foster Care there often is not) But even with international adoption which is my heart, some guidelines can be waived in some special situations. I know we've had soem waived and some friends have also. God can make a way!

And I just have to say personally, I am thankful for the American foster care system. It's not perfect but I know some great foster care parents and there is a safety net that is not there in most every other country. I feel the need to talk about international adoption because there is such a great need and such poverty. I've been honored to go into two orphanges and have seen great need first hand. We do not have the needs in America like there is in international situations. There is no comparison...at all....

If you are interested and would like to contact me, feel free to leave a message. We've adotped from two different countries, one was with an agency , one was independant... God worked so many miracles for us and our children.....He can and will do the same for you!