Orphan Trains
Recently I watched a documentary on Orphan Trains. It seems that many years ago in the US there were trains that carried orphaned and abandoned street kids from New York City way out into the Midwest. At each train depot the hope was that there would be a family or two or three that would take a kid or two or five!
Some stories were gut wrenching - like the one young man who was a part of a sibling group of brothers and sisters. He watched as at stop after stop a sibling was picked for adoption - then on to the another train depot where he said a forever goodbye again. This went on till he was the last one of the siblings left on the train. He finally was picked by a family.
So, what's better? Live like an animal surviving on the streets of New York city or being put on an orphan train and shipped to the Midwest? You can decide.
Adoption is not a new concept.
Orphans have been around for millennia - so has adoption.
The methods may have changed on how we find potential adoptive families - but the needs are the same.
Every child belongs to the human race...just not to a particular human family.
We all want to feel the embrace of a loving parent - to feel as if we matter - that we're not human garbage to be discarded on the street, used for personal pleasure, or forgotten about - tucked away in an orphanage somewhere.
We want to belong! You and I want to be able to say, "Mom...Dad."
God loves orphans:
Exodus 22:22 "You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.
Psalm 68:5 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows-- this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
God wants followers of Jesus to love orphans:
James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
When one really thinks about it - Adam was the first "son" of God in the human line of "sons". He became an orphan because of sin. He, along with our mother Eve - became estranged from their Heavenly Daddy.
We have all followed in the line of Adam. Because of sin we are all spiritual orphans. We need to be re-captured by the Father - ADOPTED by Him.
My wife and I have been preparing to adopt children. Since January of this year we've taken classes, had a home study done, looked at profiles of available children. It's been quite the process. DHS has a means in place whereby qualified families may adopt available children.
God has His means in place as well by which spiritual orphans are adopted. That means is a Person and a Process.
The Person is the second Adam - Jesus Christ, THE perfect Son of God.
The Process of spiritual adoption is linked to the Person.
It goes like this: Before God created the world He looked ahead in time and saw an entire globe that would be filled with spiritual orphans - sinners who needed to be adopted by the Heavenly Father.
Just like my wife and I will choose to adopt certain kids someday - God the Father, on obviously a much deeper and much broader scale - chose certain kids to be brought into His heavenly family. He chose us in Christ before He even created the world.
Now, in time and space, as those orphans are born and living in the world the Father sends His good news of grace for all to hear. Those who truly hear and respond in faith are those whom He has already chosen in eternity past and now in time have been given faith to believe.
Have you been spiritually adopted?
Some stories were gut wrenching - like the one young man who was a part of a sibling group of brothers and sisters. He watched as at stop after stop a sibling was picked for adoption - then on to the another train depot where he said a forever goodbye again. This went on till he was the last one of the siblings left on the train. He finally was picked by a family.
So, what's better? Live like an animal surviving on the streets of New York city or being put on an orphan train and shipped to the Midwest? You can decide.
Adoption is not a new concept.
Orphans have been around for millennia - so has adoption.
The methods may have changed on how we find potential adoptive families - but the needs are the same.
Every child belongs to the human race...just not to a particular human family.
We all want to feel the embrace of a loving parent - to feel as if we matter - that we're not human garbage to be discarded on the street, used for personal pleasure, or forgotten about - tucked away in an orphanage somewhere.
We want to belong! You and I want to be able to say, "Mom...Dad."
God loves orphans:
Exodus 22:22 "You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.
Psalm 68:5 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows-- this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
God wants followers of Jesus to love orphans:
James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
When one really thinks about it - Adam was the first "son" of God in the human line of "sons". He became an orphan because of sin. He, along with our mother Eve - became estranged from their Heavenly Daddy.
We have all followed in the line of Adam. Because of sin we are all spiritual orphans. We need to be re-captured by the Father - ADOPTED by Him.
My wife and I have been preparing to adopt children. Since January of this year we've taken classes, had a home study done, looked at profiles of available children. It's been quite the process. DHS has a means in place whereby qualified families may adopt available children.
God has His means in place as well by which spiritual orphans are adopted. That means is a Person and a Process.
The Person is the second Adam - Jesus Christ, THE perfect Son of God.
The Process of spiritual adoption is linked to the Person.
It goes like this: Before God created the world He looked ahead in time and saw an entire globe that would be filled with spiritual orphans - sinners who needed to be adopted by the Heavenly Father.
Just like my wife and I will choose to adopt certain kids someday - God the Father, on obviously a much deeper and much broader scale - chose certain kids to be brought into His heavenly family. He chose us in Christ before He even created the world.
Now, in time and space, as those orphans are born and living in the world the Father sends His good news of grace for all to hear. Those who truly hear and respond in faith are those whom He has already chosen in eternity past and now in time have been given faith to believe.
Have you been spiritually adopted?
Labels: adoption, father, fatherless, grace, Orphan train
posted by James Hunt at
9:47 AM
1 Comments:
Hello
I just wanted to stop by and tell you thank you for caring for orphans. As I have read through your blogs on children I am encouraged that I am not alone in this fight to help orphaned and abandoned children. I am the Director of Public Relations for a non-profit organization called World Orphans. We build church based orphan homes all over the world and our mission is simple E3 to reach each church…each child…each community. I would love for you to take a look at our website and let me know if you have any questions. (www.worldorphans.com) thank you again for your heart and words that you have written. I hope you will have a glorious blessed day!
Jenna M. Howard
-Director of Public Relations
www.Worldorphans.org
Jennah@worldorphans.org
www.JennaMarieHoward.com
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Jenna Marie Howard, at 4:24 PM
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