If we were to survey a group of Christians with the question, “What is true religion?”, most of us would not be satisfied with the answer James gives in James 1:27: “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” That’s social gospel moralism. What of the cross? What of faith?

In the message on Adoption Sunday we zeroed in on the orphan part of that verse to understand how we come to care for orphans and how this description of true religion relates to the gospel.

In context, James is speaking about the life of those who have been “born of the word of truth,” who know God as, “Father,” who have received “the implanted word” (1:16-27). So, orphan care is something that happens when we believe the gospel. Orphan care is a part of true religion because this is the kind of thing that we do when we know God, who is, as Psalm 68:5 says, a “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows.” We care for orphans because we are God’s children.

Orphan care includes foster care, adoption, defending the unborn, serving orphans in foreign lands, and supporting all of these things financially and through prayer. We’re not all responsible to do all of these things, but we are responsible to be doing something for orphans in their affliction.

Adopting and supporting adoptions is one crucial way to address orphans in their greatest immediate need: The need for parents.

And DSC’s Adoption Ministry is busy helping encourage, network and support adoptions. At the Adoption page, you will find information about a Bi-Monthly Fellowship for adoptive families and those interested in adoption, adoption related videos, resources for supporting and financing adoptions, and many helpful adoption related links.

Also, if you’re not an adoptive parent, but would like to care for an adoptive family, sign up to become a “Spiritual Grandparent.” Spiritual Grandparents get to know a family, pray for them, eat with them, watch the kids at times, pay attention to the family’s needs and love the children as grandparents would. Contact Jason Mancini for more information at jasonm [at] pmi-nm [dot] com.

On the subject, we are especially eager to recommend a book by Russell Moore, Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches. Also, Dr. Moore recently published an excellent post about orphan care at his blog, Is The Orphan My Neighbor?

Orphan care does not define us, but it does identify us as those who belong to our orphan loving Creator, and it provides the world with a category for the adopting love of God in Christ, who bore our afflictions and carried our sorrows that we might call God, Father.