>
While at lunch this week with a group a friends, the topic came up about a weekly section in our local paper that highlights one child in the state foster care system each Thursday who is in need of a family. It made some of them uncomfortable. IT SHOULD! We SHOULD be bothered by the fact that there are 143 million orphans in the world and over 500,000 children in the US foster system who do not know the love and comfort of family. It’s EASY to NOT know, because once you are aware it’s painful to think of every day. It’s easy to live in our comfortable bubble here in Montgomery, AL and go about our business every day and not think about the reality that others face on a daily basis. Do you think about the fact that 30,000 children die EVERY DAY from malnutrition, poverty and preventable diseases?!? Probably not, because it’s not a reality that is before us. We don’t HAVE to think about it, but we SHOULD. And we shouldn’t just THINK about it, we should DO something ABOUT it! After returning from Ethiopia I really struggled with being joyful. The reality I saw and read about in so many other parts of the world overwhelmed me. Why would my God allow such pain and suffering? I was convicted of my pride in thinking that I could do any better and what the Lord spoke to me instead was, “Why do YOU allow this!?” Why are we, the body of Christ not doing more to care for the poor, orphan and widow? We are to mirror Christ, but instead we live our lives in a manner that seeks to maximize our safety, comfort and freedom. Did Jesus come to Earth and find the most comfortable living situation, store up Earthly treasures and spend his days with his like minded friends? No, he walked among the outcasts, poor, hurting, diseased, needy. Are we doing the same?
I spent a few hours last night looking at these beautiful faces and praying for them and that they would know the love of family and more importantly the love of being in the family of God so that no matter where their earthly home, their eternal home will be secure! Go, look and get uncomfortable, because your adoption into our Heavenly Fathers family cost him greatly. It came with GREAT sacrifice and High costs. I brought nothing to the table but sin and ugliness, yet Christ pursued me and adopted me and no matter how difficult and painful my actions, words, thoughts are to my Lord, I have no fear of being cast out of His family! These children deserve that in their earthly families and I pray that Christians will open their hearts and homes to them so that they might be adopted and hopefully, ultimately into the Family of God!
This sermon from David Platt is powerful and I hope it touches, convicts, and inspires the way and has me.
Blessings!
