COMPELLING ENOUGH?

As most of you hopefully know by now, November is National Adoption Month. It is a time of cumulative effort by adoption advocates everywhere to raise awareness of the global orphan crisis and to encourage families both in our churches and in our communities to get involved in some facet of orphan care. As a part of our church's Adoption & Foster Care Ministry, my husband and I have recently had the honor of working with a small group of passionate individuals to plan and organize an "Adoption Sunday" event at our church. Fortunately for us, we have been well equipped for service by a Pastor who has a big heart for children's ministry and whom wholeheartedly supports our ministry's efforts.

As a part of our upcoming event, we have been working with our team's talented videographer to shoot a short film highlighting key aspects of the orphan crisis as well as families who have either adopted or fostered children. In theory, this would have been a wonderful opportunity to share our adoption experience within a broader context. In reality, however, our moment to shine quickly faded as the little jitterbug sandwiched between us on the interview couch wiggled and squirmed like a bucket full of crabs while attempting to confiscate my microphone and mumbling distracting little comments under his breath like, "Mama, I need a cookie" and "Hold me, I'm scared of the lights". Alas, neither my husband nor I could concentrate on the interview long enough to articulate even one complete thought and I am sure most of the tape ended up on the editing room floor! Fortunately, we serve a God who can move mountains and so we take comfort in knowing that He can stir people's hearts on behalf of the world's needy children with or without our testimony.

By the end of the session, the very last thing the videographer asked us to do was to give the viewer the most compelling reason we could come up with for people to get involved in orphan care. Geez, that should have been an easy one, right? I mean, if there was only one question we should have been able to answer with even the slightest modicum of integrity it was that one. Yet, where were we when our proverbial ship sailed in? Were we ready with a convincing response? No, we were too busy picking goldfish pretzels out from between the sofa cushions while attempting to reel in the slippery little eel that was sliding off the edge of the couch.

So, with filming behind us and my little super hero tucked safely in his bed, I find myself here tonight at my computer grateful for second chances. With a clear mind, I am focused and prepared to offer the most compelling reason why I believe we should ALL be doing our part to care for the world's orphans. My answer is simple, unfiltered, pretty straight forward and it has absolutely nothing to do with my opinion.

WE SHOULD CARE FOR ORPHANS BECAUSE GOD TELLS US TO CARE FOR THEM.
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before the Father is this: to care for widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27)

The simple fact is, that as Christians, orphan care just isn't an option. When we commit to pick up our cross and follow Jesus, we don't get to pick and choose the parts of His message that fit neatly and conveniently into our own particular circumstances. In fact, God's Word can be down right inconvenient at times and often calls us to step out of our comfort zone and out of our selfishness for the good of something bigger than ourselves . . . for the poor, the needy, the lonely, the sick, the ORPHAN. In the end, God's word should be the only reason that we need to get involved in orphan care. After all, if the word of our risen Savior isn't a compelling enough reason for each and everyone of us to stand up for the world's fatherless, then anything I have to say really shouldn't matter anyway.