What If...

"Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers. 

Let our hearts be, led by mercy, help us reach with open hearts and open doors. 

Oh Jesus friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks Yours."

I've been praying this prayer for the last couple months and God has begun to ignite a passion in me for the orphan. As such, I've begun to notice some things lacking in the church concerning this very thing...this post might upset some people and I kind of hope it does. {Now with that being said, I'm not trying to do this in a hateful way - but rather a way that will stir the hearts of people within the church to wake up to this great crisis.} These thoughts and questions have been swirling around in my head, so I've decided to "voice" them...maybe you've even wondered the same thing...

What if the church got as passionate about orphans as they were about handing out tracts to the community {that has already been well saturated with tracts}? What if we gave as much money to organizations around the world that help widows and orphans and "the least of these" that we put into purchasing the latest and greatest technology for the building? What if instead of knocking doors week after week after week, we instead start a program to reach out to those in the community who have adopted or are maybe interested in adoption? What if we spent more time ministering to families within our own building struggling as new parents to an adopted child? What if more churches had directories filled with families of all different colors?

I think the world will be more likely to respond to our actions of love rather than your words. If they see Christ, they'll want to know more about Him! You can't beat someone over the head with the gospel and make them respond. You need to come along beside them, get down in the trenches with them and show them that you're there for them, regardless of whether or not they respond to your invitation to attend church (and more than likely after seeing that you're willing to stick by their side, they'll probably show up and surprise you one day anyway!). The lost world is seeking Someone to follow. And if we're supposed to be "light" in a dark world, then we have the ability to lead them right to Christ by the light we shine.

Can you imagine what would happen if the church suddenly got on fire for orphan and widow care? Whoa, look out world! If the church wants more open doors to witness to people, I have to say that having a child with a skin color that doesn't match yours is a great open door! A child of a different color than his/her parents will lead to many opportunities to share the gospel. It becomes your open door. But are we willing to step out of our comfort zone?

"You love every lost cause. 

You reach for the outcast, 

for the leper and the lame, 

they're the reason that You came. 

Lord I was that lost cause. And I was the outcast. 

But You died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet."

Jesus didn't preach to the Samaritan woman and then walk off. No, He sat down next to her. He was there when everyone else had run away, when everyone else was pointing fingers at her, condemning her. There are women and children around the world in desperate need of the same thing. For someone to be there when no one else is. My heart broke this week as I read a story of the horrors taking place in parts of Africa by rebel soldiers. Women and young girls (some as young as 6 years old!) are being raped and the perps are getting away with it. And if it's not horrific enough to have that done to you in front of your entire village, the women's husbands are leaving them because of the shame. Young girls, with their whole lives ahead of them, are forced into marriages with these rebel soldiers (again, very, very young girl - 10, 12 years old) and end up pregnant. Young boys are being told to rape their own mothers and when they don't comply, they're being killed in front of the mother. But why do I have to read about this in a news story? Where is the church when stuff like this is going on? Why aren't things like this on our prayer lists???

We all like to use the phrase, "I'm starving to death!" when we haven't eaten for a few hours. But, there are children that won't make it to age 5 because they do starve to death! We live in the 21st century - a time when it seems as though there's food galore. Seriously, when is the last time you went 24 hours without food because you didn't have any? I can't say that I have... But why don't we hearing about things like this in church? Why don't we hear about the people and places in {desperate!} need? Sometimes I think we tend to have a very narrow focus in the church. We want to reach the world for Christ - but we will just give a little bit of monthly support to the missionaries so they can do it - we need to focus on the town in which we live.

I read a very disheartening statistic put together by "Love Isn't Enough that represent online profiles of adoptive families and what races they are open to adopting (for those adopting domestically):
88% would 'accept' a White baby
33% would 'accept' a South American or Hispanic baby
28% would 'accept' an Asian baby
14% would 'accept' a Black baby

This is true of international adoption as well. Only 7% of internationally adopting parents adopt black children, with most prospective adoptive parents preferring to adopt a child of Asian or Eastern European descent" {this set of statistics was taken from an article by Kristen Howerton a fellow adoptive blogger mom}.

Good grief, I wanted to cry! And scream! And maybe punch something...maybe. Why are we still stuck on skin color???!!! Ugh...but, again, where is the church in all of this? What would happen if more pastors advocated for orphan of all colors from all around the world from behind the pulpit? Why can't the church be a sponsor to some children in need? After all, this isn't some new movement or fad, adoption has been around since Bible-time! {Some well-known characters in the Bible were adopted: Moses, Esther and Jesus, just to name a few.}

Somehow I feel we've missed the point of the gospel if adoption is not being preached in the church, if the orphans are not being advocated for and if support is not being given to adoptive families. Domestic or international, it doesn't matter. Adoption is the gospel you can see and touch. And we will all be called to give an account of what we did for "the least of these."  

Stop and pray for orphans, for the fatherless...these children need a forever home! And sooner, rather than later! And give thanks for the father(s) you have (had) in your life!