"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute." Proverbs 31:8
Our Sunday morning class has been studying I John. And there is a lot of talk about LOVE in I John.
"16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth". I John 3
Ok, I guess I got a little frustrated hearing these verses and to me the concensus was that we all are so loving and blah blah blah. All the while, I am thinking about these children on our adoption agency's website waiting for a home. The fact that there are infants coming into the orphanages every day. ETC.
So with much nervousness, since we are new to this church, I spoke up.
This is a summary of what I said...
I know a lot of peolpe right now that need love if you are willing. There are 147,000,000 + orphans in this world, plus 5,000,000 orphans in Ethiopia alone. Those kids need love. They need someone to lay down their life for them and love them. Yes, adoption is expensive, but so is a big house, a new car, and clothes. Yes, it is scary to take in a child you didn't birth and yes it is scary to fly across the world and I was terrified of that, but the Bible says perfect love cast our fear and if you pray about it, God will take away your fear. In proverbs 24, the Bible says to rescue those staggering to death and don't say you don't know about it, God knows you do and He is going to judge you for what you do or don't do. Maybe not every Christian should adopt, but I know a lot more should adopt than do because he has a plan for those orphans and we are God's body that He uses to accomplish this.
Of course I got the normal responses. "I would like to go on a mission trip someday" "Some people aren't emotionally ready to adopt" "some people aren't financially ready to adopt" "There are plenty of people right here we can be helping" "I know people at the other end of my pew could use my help"
To which I responded "are they LITERALLY starving to death?"
I know....way to make new friends.
And truly at the end of the class after all of the discussion, I was about to tear up, thinking I failed, this didn't make a difference, and all those babies in my mind wouldn't be taken in. But the man next to me, who had started the discussion, leaned over and said "good job, that is what I was trying to say, but you said it so much better"
On the way home I started feeling guilty, but then I stopped myself. I was doing exactly what Proverbs 31:8 says to do. I spoke up for them. And I WILL NOT feel guilty about stepping on toes.
Because when you break it down it comes down to this. 147,000,000 children need families +God says to take people in and love your neighbor = we can't be quiet about this
And when you throw out all the excuses, it still comes down to the fact that kids need homes.
I wish we had more time in class to discuss this. But I will challenge you to think about this... Most excuses/reasons for not adopting you give me I am sure that looking at it from a human standpoint, I would agree with you. "not financially ready", "emotionally not ready", "I'm not called", "I didn't know"
"I serve at a soup kitchen once a month", "I don't know if I could love a child not biologically mine" etc. Many of these excuses sound ok to the human mind. However, if you go back to Proverbs 24:12 12 "If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done"
Will your excuse stand up on judgement day?.
Because really, who cares what I think. You shouldn't care at all what I think.
I challenge you again. Write down all the reasons you shouldn't adopt.
Now cross out all the ones that have to do with YOU or your COMFORT or YOUR plans for you life.
Mark 8:34 He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
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