Ignore, Give Finances, or Adopt?
There are 164.8 million orphans in the world. There are 2.1 billion people who claim to be Christian. Why does this not match up?
When I heard this statistic my heart broke. I recently read this book Kisses from Katie where a young 20-something American woman adopts 13 children in Uganda. Before I read this book I felt called to adopt at least one child, but after reading this book I was wondering if God was calling me to adopt a baseball team. I told my husband this and he challenged me with some other food for thought.
I probably scared the perjeebers out of my husband. He informed me that we could make a bigger impact in more children’s lives by supporting them financially because raising one child in America cost so much more. This doesn’t forfeit the idea of adopting, because adopting is a mission field for furthering the good news (gospel).
Yes, there is an orphan crisis in the world. There are children not being cared for emotionally, let alone physically everyday. I don’t think we think of that innocent child like we would if she/he were ours. If we did, than there wouldn’t be an abundance of children without parents. The sad lie we tell ourselves, “It’s different when it’s your kid.” Is it? Should it be? Who is called to care for people who don’t have a voice?
As Christians we are adopted into God’s family. Whether you adopt or not, it is a command by God for a Christian to care for the orphans in this world.
James 1:27
English Standard Version (ESV)
27 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.
The Message (MSG)
27 Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.
To care for these orphans looks different for everyone. Not all of us were design to adopt 13 children. I am defiantly not dissing on Katie, I say praise God she listened to what God called her to. Please ask God if you are called to adopt one child? If not, there is also financially supporting a child to live in a caring environment. Food for the Hungry is a great non-profit to go through.
Questions:
(Please leave your solutions in the comment box below. Would love to hear from you.)
If you don’t believe in God or are a Christian: What do you think is the answer to solving the problem with the abundance of orphans? Which organizations do you recommend financially supporting a child through?
10,000 Smiles
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