“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.” James 1:27
To a modern Christ-follower, the word religion is often spoken against. Religion is associated not only with spiritless, lifeless legalism, but also with most of the world’s major atrocities. However, God has given us the definition for religion and that is to take care of those in need and to keep your mind from being polluted by the world.
Yesterday we visited the Hogar Christiano Puntarenas Orphanage in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. It was an all female orphanage that housed girls from the age of 1 – 18. It was difficult to get an appointment with the orphanage because it was Catholic-run, and to my knowledge, they wanted to prevent outside influence on the girls. Fortunately, we were given about two hours to visit and spend time with them. We sang, danced, played games, and did our best to talk despite the language barrier. There were about 40 girls, and the youngest was one year old. The younger girls were carefully looked after by the older girls, and it was evident that they had formed a big family. As far as I could tell, the orphanage did a great job of providing for these girls, but they still lacked the affection and love that daughters need from their parents – especially a father.
God’s heart for adoption is clear. The beauty of the gospel is that God, through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus, took those who were not and made them to be Sons of God. We had no identity or home, and we belonged to the world. Yet God saw fit to not only save us, but offer us His Kingdom as well. Upon adoption into His kingdom we have been given full rights as Sons. We are not beggars or peasants sitting at the gates of the Kingdom; we are Sons and Daughters.
It is no wonder that we are commanded to take care of orphans. God has shown us a perfect example of compassion through adoption, and we ought to imitate our Father.
We were hesitant to leave the orphanage because the girls had captured our hearts, but we had to. A few of the girls were in tears, and it was clear that they rarely received visitors.
It might be easy to make the decision to adopt when a four year old girl who is starved for affection is clinging to you. However, it is much more difficult to obey the commands of Christ simply because you love Him. We often require heart-wrenching experiences in order to believe Him. Unfortunately, the Church remains in a perpetual state of unawareness. When we do feel challenged by God’s Word, we pull out our checkbooks and look for the nearest organization that does what God has actually called us to do.
It is my challenge to those who take on the title “Christian” to care more about the commands of Christ than you do your job, your church, and yes, even American Idol. Stop wasting your time with Jersey Shore, and start thinking about the orphans and the widows.
Every visit, every letter, and every prayer is more important than you know. If you don’t know of an orphanage or children’s home to visit, feel free to write to these girls:
Hogar Cristiano
200 E. de la entrada principal del hospital
Monseuou Sanabria
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
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