Orphan Care 4- Suffering?

            Hosea 1:2-3

 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.”  So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

                 Wow!  I know you are probably wondering where I am going with a passage of scripture like this.  But, the point that I want people to understand is that God calls us to do difficult things.  Orphan care is no different and this principle applies to all ministries, but I think this can be confusing for people that sacrifice their lives to help children. 

                If you are like me it is so easy to get caught up with the pictures of beautiful kids and our hearts get tugged as we want to alleviate their suffering.  But, these cute kids are really just regular people in cute containers.  And since they are normal people they will have the same afflictions we all deal with greed, anger, disobedience, stubbornness, un-forgiveness, meanness, and hatred. There is no guarantee that the individuals we bless with good intentions will ever respond the way we expect. 

                But, God calls people to do hard things.  Hosea was a man of God, I doubt Gomer was at the top of his list for his future wife, even her name does not sound pleasant.  Hopefully, he had cute nickname for her.  Hosea was willing to tell his people about God, and demonstrate it through this difficult relationship.  He continued to follow God's leading, even when he had to go and purchase his wife out of prostitution.

                We do not do ministry of any kind because it is good for us.  In fact, at times it is hard and will be hard.  We will be rejected, picked on, and people will be downright mean to us, that is what Jesus tells us (John 15:19-21).  We do it because we are called to love how God loved us.  Most of us have heard about the mother who sent her child back to Russia. ^LINK I do not know the full story, but it is clear that the mother did not understand that taking this step forward to adopt would require suffering.  In returning the child she may have done what was best for her and kept her from suffering,but at the expense of harming this young boy. 

Romans 5:6-8

 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.  Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

God understands suffering and knew his love may never be reciprocated.  God demonstrated a love that is willing to suffer for the benefit of others.  There will be times of suffering when we give our hearts to others, but it is temporary because God also promises times of celebration.  Yes, children will break our hearts and make us question why we even tried in the first place.  But, some of the children will be transformed, because they give their lives to Christ.

I know this is a bit of a downer this Christmas Season, but remember we do not celebrate this holiday just because Jesus was born.  We celebrate His birth because of Jesus’ willingness to suffer and die for our benefit.  Without this truth, this Christmas celebration would have died out years ago or would have never caught on.  That is why Jesus' birth is so significant, because He gave more then He would ever receive back for people who may not truly fully appreciate His sacrifice.  We are not asked to do something that God has not already done for us!

 Merry Christmas!

 

Orphan Care – Part 3 Is it really needed?

             As I had said all along I am kind of new to the need for orphan care around the world.  It seems to me like I know lots of people who have adopted or who are on a waiting list to adopt.  If there is a huge need how come it is so hard to find a child to adopt?  In 2012 in the United States there were 8,668 international adoptions this is down from 22,991 in 2004. ^LINK  There is even a larger number of children adopted from foster care in our country every year, about 52,000 in 2010. ^LINK

These Adoption statistics are all great numbers, but the number of orphans around the world is increasing every day.  It is estimated that there are 42,000 new orphans per day; that is 29 per minute! ^LINK  If you do the math you will figure out that adoption just scratches the surface and the problem is HUGE! The need is overwelming... But, the cost of adoption and the regulations surround adoption make this solution an impossible option.  It is a very good option, but there will always be more children in need of a homes than homes avaible for children.  That is where ministries like Rancho Ebenezer become very valuable. 

 In many other countries there are many things, illness, wars, displacement, and extreme poverty affecting what it means to be an orphan.  Just like in the United States, there are many kids that are adopted out of foster care that may have at least one living parent, but for many reasons their parents can no longer care for the children.  UNICEF counts children as orphans in developing countries when at least one parent has died and it is difficult to raise a family without the help of their spouse.  So many kids are considered orphans because they no longer have suitable parental care but, they still have connections to their community.  Which means orphan care has to be done near their home in order to maintain their ties to their community.

Now if we look back at what God wants for His people in the Bible (read earlier blogs: Orphan Care 1&2), He wants His people to be a father to the fatherless.  This really throws the doors open and we realize what a blessing we can be if we respond to God’s vision for our lives.  Why do I say this?  In America we have an epidemic of fatherlessness, about a third of all children live in Fatherless homes! ^LINK  This problem gives us an opportunity to serve children.  It is unfortunate that the reality is that many people are working hard at exploiting these children.

 What I want you to understand is my family is called to serve the fatherless children in Honduras.  But, there are many opportunities for others to serve here in our country.   As Jen and I look back over our years of ministry one thing stands out, God has called us to serve the fatherless, only now it's the fatherless that are in Honduras.  Maybe your home town is your mission field?

             God wanted His people to be a blessing to others; in His wisdom He pointed people in the direction of the Fatherless.  Because of death, illness, poverty and sin, He understood this need would always be in our world.  He has helped His people be a blessing to the world by guiding our lives into the path of children who are in much need of help. 

Do I believe we will solve the issue of fatherless in our World?  No…  But it does not mean we cannot work to impact those in our community.   I would rather be able to impact one child at a time than attempt to solve all the world’s problems, and miss the one child I could have blessed.   Is there a fatherless child you can bless today?

Orphan Care Part 2 - Empathy and Compassion

This is a brief conversation my 7 year-old son Adam and I had on the way home from school on Wednesday:

   Adam:  Dad do you know what Empathy and Compassion are?

   Me: Yeah, but what do you think it means?

   Adam:  Well, Empathy is trying to feel and understand what others feel.

   Me: Ok, so what is Compassion?

   Adam:  Compassion is feeling what others feel and then doing something about it like helping them or saying kind things to help them feel better.

   Me:  So how is that like what we will be doing in Honduras? 

   Adam:  Well we visited the ranch, and met all the kids without parents.  We are showing compassion because we are going back to help them.

                I watched a little video about a fight on black Friday where three women were fighting over who knows what, but a person standing there was concerned enough to pull out a camera to film.  The most startling thing about the video was not the fighting itself, but the lack of action taken by those in the crowd of shoppers. 

                It is not that people did not have empathy.  I am sure there were people in the crowd who felt the same frustration as these women.  Some, may have even sided in their heads with the women they felt were in the right.  Empathy comes in bucket loads at times, but empathy is not enough.  How come no one stepped into stop the fight?  Empathy did not stop the fight; empathy just recorded and took in the pain.

                As followers of Jesus, we need to move past empathy and embrace compassion.  We can watch the news or hear about people’s pain and feel the prick of pain in our hearts.  But, God wanted a world where people acted.  He did not want people just to know about others pains, but He wanted people willing to partner with them to alleviate their suffering. 

                As I said in my last post, God commanded his people to respond in action, because He knows it is easier to have empathy than compassion.  He knows it is the human tendency to be spectators of the destruction going on in our world.  I hear people complain constantly about the state of our world, but what steps are we willing to take to show compassion to one person at a time. 

                In the story of Ruth, she is a widow and a foreigner.  She has been reduced to gleaning in fields to provide for her mother in-law.  She was gleaning in Boaz's field. Boaz could have happily let her pick through the passed over crops and known she had food to eat.  But he was moved with compassion and went beyond just empathy; he redeemed her and took her as his wife when her intended redeemer would not.  The whole story can be found in the book of Ruth in the Bible.

                I think some of you could argue that Boaz showed compassion by allowing Ruth to glean, but I think that would just be showing empathy.  It is kind of like saying we are showing compassion by paying taxes to help those on welfare.  Meeting needs out of moral or mandated obligation does not always mean weare being compassionate, but sometimes the opposite happens and we are resentful of these people who need help.  God wants our compassion to inspire us to invest in the lives of others.  Jesus called this type of compassion discipleship. 

Matthew 9:35-37

 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

 

Matthew 28:19-20

 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

            In Matthew 9:35-37, Jesus feels the pain of his people and states his need for harvest workers.  His command to his Harvest workers is stated in Matthew 28:19-20.  According to Jesus, how do you show compassion? By making disciples! This is the kind of compassion God wants his people to show, it is beyond just the finacial obligation to care for fatherless (widows or foreigners).  It extends to how much we are willing to personally invest into the lives of people.  Jesus' discipleship meant personal investment.  If you want to gain more understanding, read the Gospels to see how Jesus invested in the lives of his disciples over the 3 years they were together.

Orphan Care Explained Part 1

            A few Sundays back I preached on Orphan care,  I thought it would be good to share on my blog what God has taught me. It would be too long to post the whole document, so I am going to break it up over the next few weeks.

Deuteronomy 24:17-22- Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge.  Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.

            First, you have to understand how God valued orphan care from the foundations of his people.  He states other commands and curses for neglecting the widow, foreigner, and orphan over 13 times in the law and 40 times in the Old Testament.  The Prophets condemn the people for neglecting the fatherless.  This act of caring was to be an identifying component to the life of the Jewish people. 

            His law gave instructions to how this was to be done through the systems of tithes and generosity.  God also gave his people warnings and curses, it was not a casual request; it was a mandate.  But it seemed to be bigger than just dealing with the symptoms of fatherlessness or poverty.  The best stories in the Bible present this generosity toward the widow, foreigner, or orphan through discipleship or true investment.  Think of the storys of Ruth, or Esther.

             In Job 31:17-18 Job explains that he has cared for the fatherless as he would his own children.  He saw the care extending past the financial obligations of the law and became a father to the fatherless.  

            I know we tend to ignore statements from the law as outdated or legalistic.  Jesus did come to fulfill the law, but I believe this goes beyond the Law to the heart of God.  In Psalms 68, David identifies God as a father to the fatherless; he goes on to say God sets the lonely in families.  God wants his people to reflect his character to the world; it is just one more way to shine the light. 

            I believe that God in his foreknowledge saw the reality of the orphan problem.  He knew that they would be impoverished and easily taken advantage of; he knew that the poor would always be with us.  But he also knew, it was an opportunity for his followers to impact the world one life at a time.