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Children of God
The gospel announces that those who are united to Christ are now part of a new family, with a Father and uncountable brothers and sisters. We come into this family, the Bible tells us, by adoption (Romans 8:15-17). This creates both a new relationship and a new future reality. We share as joint-heirs with Christ, the inheritance of the entire creation.
As those who have been adopted, then, we ought to know the joy of what it means to be brought into such a family. The people of God are commanded throughout the Scriptures to be those who, as James puts it, care “for orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). God has always stood with the vulnerable—including those who are in need of families. When we empower the care of such people in every appropriate way—sometimes through family reunification, sometimes by caring for material and spiritual needs, sometimes through adoption and foster care—we are not doing anything different from what we have experienced. We were welcomed into God’s family through the active love of a Father who cared about ex-orphans like us.
Thank you, Lord, for your promise to hear us when we cry out, “Abba, Father!” Help us to see all children as you do, and give us wisdom as we minister to their needs. Amen.