Orphan Care Part 2

Part 2

Our calling to care for orphans comes not only with great humility but with great honour.  As Matthew 18:5 says, “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.”  We honour God by caring for the orphan through a number of ways.  Not everyone is meant to become a parent to the parentless.  But, everyone is meant to be a part of their restoration.  Countless people feel a pull towards caring for the orphan but stand still because they feel they cannot do it.  There is more than one way to seek justice for the parentless.  In Deuteronomy 24:17 we are instructed to, “not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge.  Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.”  Just as God adopted us as his children and redeemed us we need to be a part of the ministry towards the parentless.  Prayer and petition, financial support, education and advocacy are only a few ways that we can be involved in seeking justice. 

Suggesting that the starting blocks of ministry to orphans is in prayer and petition can seem meager or too basic.  It is however the one thing that every missionary who is knee deep in the politics and challenges involved in orphan care will say that they covet the most.  As rudimentary as it may sound it is crucial in finding direction, strength to carry on and perhaps more often than not, in opening doors that the opposition would prefer to remain glued shut. 

Regarding financial support, in the Old Testament the Israelites were given very specific instructions on how they were to support those who were in need.  In Deuteronomy it explains that:

“At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands (14:28).”

Further on in it highlights again the importance of our regularly providing for those in need so that they can be fulfilled in the community.  “When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied (26:12).”

One of my favourite memory verses is Proverbs 31:8-9.  It ingrained in me at a young age that we have a responsibility to, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”  We’ve all seen the images of children who have been sent to work by adults, patting car windows asking for money, children standing by brothel doors waiting for customers and children soldiers.  Images of children searching the garbage dump for scraps for their younger siblings and we’ve heard the stories of children who have had to stop going to school so that they can provide for them.  Images of disabled, abandoned children being left for dead in their orphanage cot.  Although all these children may try, they cannot fend for themselves and they certainly should not have to scavenge for the families.  We are given the crucial call to “defend the cause of the weak and fatherless (Psalms 82:3).”

One of the main ways we can do so is through education.  While we do not want to exploit these children through their stories, the world does need to know what is happening.  It wasn’t all that long ago that the world was oblivious to the horror of child soldiers, or slavery on cocoa plantations, or human trafficking.  It is through our observation and storytelling with each other and the media that these stories have come to light and some change is starting to be made. 

James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”  This is when we get down to the muck and mire of active discipleship.  Although it is richly rewarding, caring for the orphan, whether through adoption or foster care, in a group home, in an orphanage or out in the community it requires grueling faith.  Think of a mustard seed wearing armor, carrying sword and shield.  It isn’t easy.  I speak from first hand.  It’s dirty.  It hurts.  It’s exhausting.  And it is possibly one of the most amazing experiences anyone could ever experience.  Think of sky diving from the moon, landing on earth and surviving.  It is impossible for us to do.  Yet, He calls us to because with Him, it is more than possible.