A Compassionate Call to Counter Culture
So, I'm not a reader. For multiple reasons - I get distracted easily so have a hard time remembering what I read, I am more of a doer so sitting at home reading feels like I'm not accomplishing anything, I'm a slow reader, etc. So, I'm lucky if I get through a book a year. BUT, I know there is so much value in reading. So much you can learn and grow from it, so I've been pushing myself to try and do it more.
Right now I'm reading the book by David Platt Counter Culture. I was so convicted by his book Radical, when I saw this book covered "culture" issues like poverty, abortion, orphans and more, I wanted to see what his conclusions from the Bible were on these topics.
Today, I worked through the Orphans and Widows chapter. He touches on scripture James 1:27 "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." Several things that the author described are items we've already worked through as a couple, but somehow the author can put our thoughts into words so much better than us :)
We must be finished and done with talk in our homes (as Christians) of "not wanting to adopt until we have children of our own" or of "wondering whether we could love an adopted child as much as we love our own child." Such conversations show a lack of understanding regarding what it means to "visit orphans" - to take responsibility for their care just as we do our own family. We have not been put on this earth simply to preserve our genetic material. We have been put on this earth to portray a gospel message, and that gospel message crosses physical barriers and transcends biological bloodlines. (page 96-97)
Telling the story of the author talking with an Asian pastor: In our country, preserving one's bloodline is of supreme importance...We don't adopt here. There is a stigma of shame over (orphans) because they have no family. Furthermore, anyone who adopts an orphan will then bring a stigma of shame over their family because the consistency of the bloodline in the family is compromised. (page 97)
The authors response to this man: I know physical bloodline is important to you in your culture. But when you come to Christ, another bloodline becomes far more important to you. The blood of Christ on a cross makes you who you are, unites you as a church, and compels you to risk shame and ridicule in your culture to show that Christ cares for those who have no family. (page 98)
WOW, these few sentences just blow me away. Jason and I know there will be hard times ahead, we know that people will stare at our bi-racial family at the grocery store, we know one day we'll have to tell him about why his biological mother couldn't keep him - and many people have told us time and time again it won't be easy. But don't you see, following Christ puts us at risk of shame and ridicule from our culture no matter what! We are striving forward in taking up our cross for the sake of Christ.
Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
Right now I'm reading the book by David Platt Counter Culture. I was so convicted by his book Radical, when I saw this book covered "culture" issues like poverty, abortion, orphans and more, I wanted to see what his conclusions from the Bible were on these topics.
Today, I worked through the Orphans and Widows chapter. He touches on scripture James 1:27 "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." Several things that the author described are items we've already worked through as a couple, but somehow the author can put our thoughts into words so much better than us :)
We must be finished and done with talk in our homes (as Christians) of "not wanting to adopt until we have children of our own" or of "wondering whether we could love an adopted child as much as we love our own child." Such conversations show a lack of understanding regarding what it means to "visit orphans" - to take responsibility for their care just as we do our own family. We have not been put on this earth simply to preserve our genetic material. We have been put on this earth to portray a gospel message, and that gospel message crosses physical barriers and transcends biological bloodlines. (page 96-97)
Telling the story of the author talking with an Asian pastor: In our country, preserving one's bloodline is of supreme importance...We don't adopt here. There is a stigma of shame over (orphans) because they have no family. Furthermore, anyone who adopts an orphan will then bring a stigma of shame over their family because the consistency of the bloodline in the family is compromised. (page 97)
The authors response to this man: I know physical bloodline is important to you in your culture. But when you come to Christ, another bloodline becomes far more important to you. The blood of Christ on a cross makes you who you are, unites you as a church, and compels you to risk shame and ridicule in your culture to show that Christ cares for those who have no family. (page 98)
WOW, these few sentences just blow me away. Jason and I know there will be hard times ahead, we know that people will stare at our bi-racial family at the grocery store, we know one day we'll have to tell him about why his biological mother couldn't keep him - and many people have told us time and time again it won't be easy. But don't you see, following Christ puts us at risk of shame and ridicule from our culture no matter what! We are striving forward in taking up our cross for the sake of Christ.
Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
NO MATTER how God uses you to glorify Him, we can all say to each other "it won't be easy" BUT it'll be worth it because He is worth it!
The last quote from the book I'll share, for now, is the story of our lives, the story of our son's life, and I hope you see God's merciful hands in your own life!
At the end of the day, God delights in displaying His majestic mercy in seemingly desperate situations to seemingly destitute people. (page 105)
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