Orphans No More

'Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.'
- Psalm 68:5

'I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.'

- John 14:18

'And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba Father!"'

- Galatians 4:6

'The New Testament reminds those of us who are newcomers of our adoption so we'll remember that we are here by the Spirit, not by the exertions of our flesh. Because we've been brought into an already-existing family, we ought not to be proud, as though we were here by family entitlement (Romans 11:11-25). We're here by grace.'

- Russell Moore, Adopted for Life, p. 30

'The kingdom of Christ is characterized in Scripture as a kingdom of rescued children.... When we protect and welcome children, we're announcing something about Jesus and His kingdom.'

- Russell Moore, Adopted for Life, p. 78

What can be greater grief than a child without a father to love him, protect him, and provide a place for him to call home? The biblical storyline is a story of lost children being brought home. At the beginning of the biblical record a story is told of alienation and wandering and from this point forward the story unfolds of search and rescue for those who are lost. The story of redemption is the story of children being rescued from danger and being brought home and forever protected and loved. God places the orphan in a family. God also defines undefiled (pure) religion as a care for orphans, because this is the heart of God Himself. In an amazing story of love for orphans God's Son necessarily became a castaway. He became an orphan. He became the despised and alienated one so that orphans might be brought into the household and claimed as true sons and daughters. This is a story of an unbelievable exchange. We were once the rejected, despised and without hope, but now we sit in our Father's house as heirs of Christ Himself and free from all separation and harm. This is the story of a Father's adopting love to weak orphans.  Because of the Father's love for us, may God give us great love for those still waiting for adoption.  Truthfully, there's an entire world of orphans waiting to hear the message of the reconciling love of the Father.