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God’s Perspective of Adoption
Berry Kercheville
Introduction: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27).
If you have been a Christian for a long time, you probably know what has been a typical treatment of this text. We have talked a lot about what the text does not mean instead of what we are going to do about the commandment in the text. The text is certainly not a command to turn the local church into an adoption agency or even a financial supporter of adoption agencies. But we cannot avoid the fact that “pure and undefiled religion is to visit the orphan and widow in their affliction.” In other words, one of the keys to our lives as disciples of Christ is to provide assistance to orphans and widows.
Caring for the Orphan Is Inherent in God’s Character
Adoption assumes tragedy. Have you ever considered that? Adoption means there have been tragic events that left a helpless child without proper care, care that God designed every person to have.
You and I may have a hard time relating to the challenges of children have no place to belong and need to be adopted. But we should be able to relate when we consider our own lives spiritually. God has used many pictures to impress on us the sad condition of our lives before he came to rescue us. We were abused slaves without hope or joy. We were as an unfaithful wife who was cast off. And we were as children who did not have a father to love and care for us. Each of these are pictures of tragedy. Needing to be loved and adopted by our heavenly Father puts us in the exact same situation as eternally as children in this life who have no place to belong and no one to love them.
Consider Romans 8:14-17 and God’s description of our salvation. God chose us and adopted us into his family because we had been sold into bondage. We were slaves to a cruel master. That was Israel’s story (Rom. 9:4) and that is our story.
Notice also in these text the freedom found in our adoption:
- There is no more fear – fear of how we are treated and fear of whether we will be accepted.
- We are not longer slaves in someone else’s house, we are part of a family and we are sons and daughters in the house.
- This changes our “spirit.” We can cry, “Abba Father.” We now have a close, intimate relationship so that we are not making a request of a “master,” but a spirit of knowing we have a Father who is looking out for our needs and willing responds. (The young children hosted from the Ukraine will often begin to say “mom” and “dad” toward the end of their stay)
Galatians 4:1-7 God is an adoptive Father. Adoption is how God describes salvation. When we do what we can for fatherless children, that is exactly how we should see it. Adoption, and aiding in adoption is salvation for that child. In fact, adoption is not just a compassionate act toward a child, it is part of our evangelistic efforts. A child is not only saved from the tragedy he faced in this life, he or she is given the opportunity to be saved eternally.
Further, as with God’s adoption of us, adopting or helping in the adoption of a child not only changes the life of one individual, but the lives of those who for generations come from that individual.
Consider the sacrifice God made in order to adopt us. God gave up his Son so that the world would have a place to belong. No wonder he commands us to “visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.” It is the very nature of God.
God’s Admonitions about Orphans
There are 42 times in the OT in which the fatherless are mentioned whether an indictment against people who do not care for them, an admonition to care for them, or a statement asserting the God cares for them.
Deut. 26:12-13
Job 31:16-22
Psalm 82:2-3
Isaiah 1:17
Jer. 7:5-7
God is all about family. The physical family that God intended for children to have is only a picture of the eternal family God has planned. When God adopted us as his own, he brought us into the “household of God” (1 Tim. 3:15). Paul said, “I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named…” (Eph. 3:14). Imagine what it is like growing up with no family and no one to love you. (Julia: “No one would want a 15 year old.”)
Family gives a sense of belonging. “Belonging” has to do with having a lineage, and therefore, and identity. Being adopted into God’s family provides us security and purpose when we are “rooted and grounded in love.”
We need to understand that financial assistance is important, but only because it provides a means of belonging. Having a family is what gives all of us security and love. Children who do not grow up with a family are far more likely to get into crime, deal with depression, get hooked on drugs, and lash out in anger because of their hurt. But most importantly, these children have a far less chance of understanding the love of God and thereby be saved.
Moses’ adoption
The amazing compassion of Pharaoh’s daughter. She rebelled against her own father’s edict and obviously stood up to him to spare Moses.
While there are certainly evil mothers, most who give up their children are overwhelmed. Sometimes it is the consequences of their own sin and sometimes it is because of circumstances they are in, such as in the horrible conditions that are in many foreign countries. These mothers go through a painful choice of giving up their child so he or she can have life instead of the bleak outlook they are facing.
What if Pharaoh’s daughter had not adopted Moses? “Moses” is the name she gave him and endured permanently. She “nurtured him as her own son.” Jewish tradition states that she crossed the Red Sea with Israel. Cf. 1 Chron. 4:17
Final Observations
Adopted children are often going to struggle. Their tragedy and trauma will need healing, and that takes time. They will not enter their adoptive family with “thankfulness,” because their trauma has kept them from even understanding that principle. They do not yet even know love or permanence, something that we who have grown up in a home with parents, cannot fathom.
There are young families who are willing to adopt, and the rest of us who are not in that position can help in dozens of ways. At some point we must come to James 1:27 and grapple with the command to do something about orphans. This is pure and undefiled religion. This is truly fulfilling the command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Practice hospitality). What can I do to give a child who does not belong a place to belong?
Do all adoptions work out well? No! Many of these children will not overcome the scars of their early childhood. Is that a reason to not help or adopt? Please consider, many of our how children who grew up in good families, decide to rebel. There are no guarantees in raising children any more than there are guarantees in sharing the gospel message. But God asked us to “visit” the orphan and share the gospel regardless of the outcome. God did, and we are to be in the image of God.
Again, let’s remember that God gave up his Son so that the world would have a place to belong.
Adoption is not about a family needing a baby, it is about a child needing a home, needing a place to belong.
How Can I Help?
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- Be aware of the needs of families who desire to adopt but struggle with the funds to do so. Adoption costs are usually about $30,000
- “Sacred Selections” is an organization run by two Christians, David and Dana Carroza. They do not take any money for themselves. One hundred percent of contributions go to helping families fund adoptions. They will not accept funds from churches.
- Become friends and mentors to children who have been adopted.