Did you know that more than 8,000 faith-based adoption agencies currently serve our nation? Or that evangelicals are twice as likely to adopt as are their secular counterparts? Names like Amy Carmichael and George Mueller are historical reminders of heroic saints who started orphanages and schools in order to rescue endangered children.
I do not mean to imply that only Christians value life; nor do I wish to insinuate that followers of Jesus have never fallen short of the standards and expectations of Scripture. Yet, the argument that all Christ followers care about is abortion, or that believers do little to promote human flourishing after birth, is demonstrably false.
Check out more articles on faith and culture from pastor Adam Dooley.
Since the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, churches and parachurch ministries have continued embracing new opportunities and responsibilities within the pro-life movement. While standing against the culture of death is never less than protecting life in the womb, it also encompasses much more. With every crisis pregnancy, Christians must be ready to stand in the gap by providing homes for children with parents who cannot or will not take care of them.
Even followers of Christ sometimes miss how adoption care is a beautiful picture of our faith, though.
First, God’s love for orphans requires believers to express the same. Psalm 82:3 instructs, “Vindicate the weak and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute.” Isa 1:17 says, “Learn to do good; Seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan . . .” These verses are but a brief sampling revealing God’s commitment to the weakest among us.
In addition, we sometimes overlook that God the Father sent His only begotten Son into the world to be adopted by Joseph of Nazareth. Though the two were not connected biologically, Joseph became a real father to Jesus. The simple carpenter provided for Jesus; he protected Jesus; he loved Jesus.
Lest you think the point is warm but insignificant, we should also realize that salvation for you and me would not be possible apart from this sacrificial adoption. The Old Testament explicitly taught the Messiah would be a son of Israel’s most famous king, David (1 Chron. 17:11-12). Thus, the gospel of Matthew and Luke both trace the lineage of Christ back to David through the house of His earthly father, Joseph. Apart from this connection, Jesus was not qualified to die on the cross as our promised Savior.
Picture of the gospel
Finally, the Bible describes the concept of salvation as an act of adoption.
Christ came so that we might receive the adoption as sons (Gal. 4:5). Later we read that God predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself (Eph. 1:5). Isn’t that remarkable?
Adoption is a picture of the gospel precisely because it communicates both the choice and commitment to bring another into your family. There is no such thing as an accidental adoption! A parent might say, “Oops! I’m pregnant,” but you will never hear the words, “Oops! I adopted a child.”
All of this means that God loves those who are in Christ unconditionally. He chose to invite us into His family; He willingly died to make a way for us; and once we are in, we are always in. Thus, those who choose to adopt become living examples of God’s love toward us.
James, the half-brother of Jesus, went so far as to say, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world (James 1:27).”
Encourage and celebrate
In other words, the man who watched his father raise the Son of God as his own uses orphan care as an example of godliness. Thus, the church must encourage and celebrate adoption even more than we already do. We must create a culture where those who cannot care for a child feel less shame from choosing life and adoption than they do for choosing abortion.
Worldwide, 152 million orphans need someone to love them, and those numbers are growing. Those called to adopt must answer that call. Those who are led differently must sacrificially support those who do. All Christians have a role to play because we know firsthand what it is like to be spiritual orphans adopted by a Heavenly Father. None of us can do everything, but all of us can do something — and for vulnerable children waiting for hope, doing something matters.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Adam B. Dooley is pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, Tennessee, and author of “Hope When Life Unravels and Exalting Jesus in 1-2 Chronicles.”
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