Thoughts on Adoption

"Taking care of orphans is a command. In no translation I have ever read has it said, "Now, if you feel like it, and when your home is big enough, and when you have enough money, THEN you should take care of the orphans. Nope--my Bible says to take care of the orphans! Period. No questions asked. No if. No but. No maybe.

...

There is no excuse for the 147 million orphans around the globe. No excuse. Where are the Christians to take care of them? There sure are enough of us to take care of the problem. If only we would get it."

From this post on No Greater Joy Mom.


Reece's Rainbow writes:
"In the United States alone, 137 million people claim to be Christians of some denomination. If only 1% of the Christians in this country adopted just ONE CHILD, 1.37 MILLION CHILDREN from abroad would have loving, Christian families to grow up in."


I'm not in the US, and I've no idea what the statistics here in Australia would be. But that isn't really the point. We're commanded in Scripture to take care of those less fortunate, especially the widows and the fatherless.

I recently watched From Terror to Triumph, and one of the statements that really stood out to me was the statement that there were many Christians who didn't make it into Foxe's Book of Martyrs, but who are heroes in the eyes of God for doing what was right, taking in babies that had been abandoned to exposure and bringing them up as their own.

There is just so much to say here! People are so much more responsive to the Gospel when they are young. After all, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Mark 10:15). Adoption, especially of those who are deemed "special needs" (which can vary from simple and easily corrected problems to severe physical, emotional and social issues) shows the love that God has placed in our hearts.

But perhaps most of all, adoption is one way we can imitate our Lord - "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship [also translated as adoption] And by him we cry, "Abba, Father". (Romans 8:15).

Audio Giveaway

At the moment, several of the blogs I regularly read have been mentioning the NCFIC "Sufficiency of Scripture Conference". Being out of the US means I can't even really consider going to a whole lot of these conferences, but I can (and often do) buy the audio afterward!

For those who weren't able to attend, you can purchase the audios here:
http://ncfic.org/conferenceaudiopreorder

or visit their conference page...

And if you are interested in getting some audios for free then hop over to Life in A Shoe - which is hosting a giveaway for this event!

Saving Hailee

I've added a button. As many of you will know, I adore children, and adoption is an issue close to my heart. I recently learnt of this family who are aiming to adopt Hailee. Due to the changes in the policy of that country they need to get everything done as soon as they can, because at any point Hailee can be fostered out - in which case she is unlikely to survive.

Please consider donating, and please pray!

OZYMANDIAS

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.


I re-read this poem recently, and was struck by how even the fallen know that their works will not last. Shelley was not exactly one of the great moralists of his era.

So many people work hard and build something. And yet, how soon these works fall. The only of the Wonders of the Ancient World that still remain are the pyramids, and they are (a still impressive) shadow of their former glory.

The thing is, without Christ, nothing will last. A building is only a day of extreme weather away from distruction. Paintings are stolen, neglected, distroyed. All that we make, God can unmake, and in a second, when we least expect it.

What are you building? Will it last more than a year? Beyond your lifetime? Into eternity? Or will it disappear in the sands of time?

Only one life, will soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last.