Adoption is, perhaps, one of the most symbolic yet underrated ministries of all time. Last night my wife and I watched a documentary on the hundreds of thousands of infant girls in China who face abandonment or death due to the one-child policy and the cultural preference for boys. (As a sidenote, we need to pray for the churches in China as they deal with the one-child policy’s effects, such as sex slavery). This documentary also included footage of American husbands and wives waiting to meet their newly adopted Chinese daughters for the first time. The reporter called it “the most emotional workday of her life.”
For those who see God as their Father, the footage should be powerful, because that’s exactly what Jesus Christ did for us. He rescued us, helpless and mismatched as we were to Him, from a dangerous and tragic future. He took us under His roof, declared us as His family, giving us loving and gracious provisions, all the while working to redeem our heritage from its faults.
I am very proud of the disproportionate amount of initiative my church family has taken into the ministry of adoption. For a church our size, we have many couples that have adopted kids or are hip-deep and passionately into the process of adopting a young child in need. Some from Russia. Others from Haiti, Africa or China. Some of them have written journal articles or even created blogging spaces just for this journey. If you’re interested (and with their permission), I can connect you with the links.
In the meantime, I’d like to raise a toast to the ministry of adoption. Please pray for all those called thereof. Whether it’s adopting a child in need or raising your biological children in a gracious and edifying manner, this is how we help reject the global injustices against to children and follow one of Jesus’s surprising charges to his disciples.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” -Matthew 19:14
3 comments:
Great article, James!!
what does sex slavery imply in china? i don't get the idea..
anyways, good insight, thank you!
@Liz - Thanks!
@taietzel - I didn't feel I had time to get into detail in the blog, but, according to the documentary, the one-child policy and the cultural preference for boys, the female population in China is becoming an extreme minority. When there's not a girl for a lot of boys, some women become "child-bearing slaves" for multiple men. There's also domestic abuse against women who don't give birth to boys. It's a bit chaotic, so we need to continue to pray for China and its church. The church in China has been quite the flourishing trooper since before and after Mao died, but they've still got a lot on their plate.
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