Have you
heard of Orphan Sunday? This movement started in 2002 in a church in Lasaka,
Zambia. The Zambian pastor addressed the
needs of orphans in their church and community, and the people in this
hard-pressed congregation gave anything they could to help the children who had
no fathers or mothers to care for them.
One woman came forward, took off her shoes, and put them in the offering
basket. Another brought forward a head of
cabbage. After the service, the pastor
gave the cabbage to a widow caring for 2 orphans who hadn’t eaten anything in 2
days.[1]
An American
named Gary Schneider was visiting that church on that day. He was inspired by that church’s
compassion-in-action for orphans, so he encouraged his church and other
churches he was connected with in the U.S. to do something similar. In 2003,
the movement of Orphan Sunday began in the U.S.[2]
Orphan
Sunday is now celebrated in over 50 countries around the world,[3]
including 6,000 churches in the Ukraine and over 500 churches in the
Philippines.[4] Orphan Sunday has been celebrated in all 50
states[5], and
I’m so happy that in 3 weeks—on November 1 & 2—my church will be
participating in Orphan Sunday for the first time. (!!!)
Orphan
Sunday reminds us that we were all once spiritual orphans. Russell Moore
writes, “Let's remember that we were
orphans once, and that someone came looking for us, someone who taught us to
call him ‘Abba’ [Father].”[6]
The word Abba means Father, but the word also means so much more. Abba
is the term of tender endearment from a child who knows she is loved by her
father. Abba is like Daddy or Papa. Abba is what a child says when she is in
an affectionate, dependent relationship with her father.[7]
When we repent of our sin and place
our trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, we not only are justified and no
longer have to pay the penalty for our sins—but we are also adopted into the
family, into the very arms of our loving Abba
Father, and we receive the rights of being His children. Did you catch that? Once we are adopted into
God’s family, we receive the rights of children who were born into royalty; in
fact, the Bible says we are heirs with Christ.
We read in Galatians 4:4-7, “But when the fullness of time had
come, God sent forth his Son… to redeem those who were under
the law, so that we might receive
adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has
sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but
a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
This is the good news, my
friends. God is the Father who sees His
children a long way off and runs to embrace them. There is enough room in God’s
house. There is enough room in God’s
lap. There are enough seats at His
banquet table. God is the Father who
loves us and would give us anything—even His own Son as a sacrifice to save us
from our sin. God adopted us into His family. He promises to care for us, provide for us,
comfort us. We are adopted by God, and
He calls us His own. And when we see an
adoption on earth, we are seeing a picture of what God has done for each of
us. #seeingtheunseen
In seeing that God has compassion on
spiritual orphans, it’s no wonder
that God has particular compassion on physical
orphans. Psalm 146:9 tells us, “The LORD
watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow.” When God sees orphans neglected and
mistreated, His heart is roaring like a lion protecting its cubs. The fire in His heart to sustain orphans spreads
to the ones He has adopted as His own to show that same love to children in
need.
Yet not every Christian is called to
adopt or to foster orphans. But we are
all called to care for orphans in some way or another. Isaiah 1:17 reads, “Seek justice. Defend the
oppressed. Take up the cause of the
fatherless.” Not everyone can adopt or
foster, but everyone can do something. Some
are able to give financially to an orphan care ministry or to a family who is
preparing to adopt a child. Some are
able to babysit for a few hours for adoptive parents as they navigate the
stressful transition. Some are able to
go on mission trips to care for orphans.
Some are able to be CASA volunteers to be an advocate for a child in
foster care. All of us can pray for orphans.
There are 153 millions orphans in
the world.[8]
What might you be able to do to take up the cause of the fatherless?
This is why I am excited for Orphan
Sunday. It’s
amazing that what God started in a small church in Zambia 12 years ago is now a
unifying event for Christians all around the world. I am excited for hundreds and thousands of churches
to each do something to remind us that we were once spiritual orphans, and we
must show some compassion-in-action for the world’s physical orphans.
At my church, we will be having an
Orphan Sunday open house after each of our services that weekend. We have asked representatives from the local
DCS, adoption agencies, etc. to come set up booths so the people in our
congregation can talk with them and ask them questions.
I don’t know what God might stir up
in the hearts of the people in my church or in other churches, but I like to
wonder about how many children around the world will be provided for from a
generous donation or cared for by a loving foster family or even adopted into a
forever family because of Orphan Sunday.
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