A banquet of grace, part 7

Much is still weighing on my mind, but it will have to wait for posts with different titles, or find a resting place someplace else.  We started this study with a number of questions relative to what adoption is about and who should pay for it.  Here is my overview for now, without regurgitating all that has already been written.

I see throughout the Scriptures that God exhorts us to care for the fatherless within our gates via gleaning and tithe provisions, but how that works itself out in the present day I do not know.  I think, by implication, we could say that there is a general responsibility upon us corporately to uphold justice and to do what we can for the stranger, the widow and the orphan as we remember who God is and what He has done for us.  There are oodles of opportunities (if you need suggestions, feel welcome to contact me).

I see nowhere that we are commanded to adopt, though I believe God puts it in the hearts of many to do so. Adoption, one by one, eliminates the fatherless by grafting them into families, thereby reducing the number of fatherless for us to plead the cause of.  Paul is the only writer that uses the term "adoption" and as I've said before it relates to God adopting those He has chosen to be His.  Adoption has been practiced throughout time in different ways and for varying reasons, but where God is concerned, it is redemptive in nature, with a price to pay, rooted in compassion and born with great patience.  When we engage in this work, in imitation of our Father, it should not surprise us that there is a price to pay, that we will need to exercise much patience in the whole journey from application through all the years of parenting, that the recipients of our compassion may not be overflowing with gratitude and sweet spirits any more than we are, and that in the end God will complete the good work He began in us all.  It is a journey some are called to and equipped for, and those who are must walk daily trusting that God's grace will be sufficient as the experience plays itself out somewhere on the spectrum of immeasurable joy to seemingly life-toppling difficulty.  If you are aware of anyone God is calling to walk this road, it is a good work to support them in it as God grants you the opportunity and ability.  If you are the one on the road, be encouraged that He who calls will also provide for all you need in the journey in His time and according to His wisdom...if He leads you to ask for help, do so humbly without shame in a fashion that honors Him, and trust Him with the answers as He works in the hearts of others.

Kerri left a comment under part 4: "the raising of a child isn't totally JUST for the benefit of the child and our own pleasure, but because we can be an answer to the prayer 'Lord raise up workers for Your harvest.'"  And under part 1, she said this: "Adoptive families are an encouragement to those around them in ways they may not be aware of. The whole family of Christ is blessed by your and the other adopted children. They are truly part of all of the body."  Great points.  Our lives really do intersect by God's design.

I'll end with summarizing the Parable of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10:25-37.  A lawyer tested Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus asked him to share his understanding of the law, which he summarized as loving God and loving neighbors.  That's right said Jesus, do that and you will live.  The lawyer, wanting to justify himself, asked "Who is my neighbor?"  Jesus answers with a story of three men and a person in need; two men pass by and one gives aid, and Jesus asked, "which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." 

The end.