November

In 1995, President Bill Clinton declared November to be "National Adoption Month". So I decided I would blog about it... thank you to the former president for giving me a blog topic! :-) 


I think adoption is one of the coolest things in the world for so many reasons... God's Word is brimming with verses about Christian's responsibilities to care for children without families. 


Psalm 82:3 "Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy."
Isaiah 1:17 "Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."
James 1:27 "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."


God gave us a huge calling as Christians. When Jesus came to the earth, He showed compassion to and cared for orphans and we are called to imitate Him. 


Ephesians 5:1-2 "Be imitators of Christ, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God."


The whole foundation of adopting starts with God's adoption of us as Christians. The way that God chose each one of His children, and loves us unconditionally. We did nothing to deserve God's love for us, but He pours it out on us and continues to show it no matter what. It is so exciting that we as Christians now have the opportunity to show the love that Christ showed us to others... to choose to pour out on a child the unconditional love that can only come through Christ's power. I am so incredibly thankful for the love that God showed me, and am amazed at why God would choose to lavish His love on me. What an amazing blessing and privilege to show the incredible love of Christ to others. 


Ephesians 1:5 "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will."


There is a huge need for Christians to step up to the calling to care for and show love to fatherless children as there are literally millions of children in the world without families with an estimated number of over 420,000 children in foster care in the US. 


Adoption is so dear to my heart and is such an awesome picture of Christ's love for us. As I was listening to a family tell their story of how they came to adopt one of their children, and telling us about the horrible circumstances at the orphanage they came from, I was thinking of the countless other children who have yet to be adopted living at that orphanage and how this one child they adopted is just the tip of the iceberg. But that's how you change the world: One person at a time.