Defending the Fatherless

Recently I had the opportunity to talk with a friend on a podcast about several things related to the work I’m involved in.  In the course of our conversation he asked me “what one take away could you give me?” 

What a powerful question – and one that reminded me of a saying (that I’m at best only loosely paraphrasing) – the most important thing is making the most important thing the most important thing.  In other words, the thing that needs to consume your time, should be the thing that is the most critical, meaningful and impactful.

So what was my answer to him? I shared James 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. Then I explained it as I understood it – service to those from whom we have nothing to gain was of extreme importance to God.  We see it throughout scripture in commands to care for orphans, widows, immigrants, the disabled, and the imprisoned.  Without expectation to get anything in return.  It was the same with Jesus…while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8).  He did not come to us with anything to gain, but came to serve and to defend us- when we were orphans.

Defending God

I’ve gotten into a bad habit lately of defending God. My obsession with defending Him is almost always in one specific area, and that is His goodness.

What do I mean by that? Let me give you an example- I often hear people say things like “God caused this to happen” or “God did this to me” or “why did God do….?” These statement almost always proceed a statement about some terrible event, deadly disease, or absolute tragedy.

I am more upset when I hear Christians say things that are lifted from the Bible in fragments that are absolutely disconnected from the context of the book they’re in or even the verse they’re in. Here’s an example that I’ve heard more than once “…we know that God causes all things…”. This is a misquoted allusion to Romans 8:28 and somehow is used to imply that when their is good or evil God is the author of it. In fact this verse says “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose.” Causing things- including tragedies- to work together for good is quite a different thing than causing all things to happen.

Let me give an example, I know a young man in the Central African Republic who lost both parents to AIDS when he was a boy. I don’t for a minute think that God caused the death of his parents. His parents died from a disease – disease was not part of God’s creation but came into the world when Adam fell. AIDS itself is also often contracted through illicit sexual activity or intravenous drug use. Sadly there are many others who contract the disease because of someone else's behaviors and are innocent victims.

As a result of this boy’s parents dying he was raised in a different home by Christians who taught him about the love of God and he eventually became a believer. Today this young man leads a class of children, many of whom have also been orphaned by AIDS.

God was able to use (not cause) this terrible situation and use it for His glory and to build this orphan into a man of God.

So do I need to defend God? No. He is more than able to defend Himself. Yet I will continue to deliver a message (which is itself the very core of my defense) that a dear friend taught me- “God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.”

Who’s kingdom are you growing?

In one way or another we’re all in the business of kingdom building. CEO’s focus on the growth of their company, coaches focus on the performance of their team, people in ministry are focused on the growth of their ministry.

The desire to see a company or ministry expand in reach and influence is absolutely natural, we as people desire to succeed and as a result we have an inclination to see the thing that we spend our time working on succeed as well. We look at things like market penetration, number of people served, and name recognition. Trucks are purchased and buildings are built with corporate or ministry names emblazoned on them as evidence of the success of the organization.

Don’t misunderstand me, there is nothing wrong with a ministry growing, or identifying the vehicles or buildings it uses for ministry.

In 1 Corinthians Paul shows an example of kingdom building:

“For you are yet carnal. For in that there is among you envyings and strife and divisions, are you not carnal, and do you not walk according to men? For while one says, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each? I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither is he who plants anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. So he planting, and he watering, are one, and each one shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For of God we are fellow-workers, a field of God, and you are a building of God. According to the grace of God which is given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let every man be careful how he builds on it. For any other foundation can no one lay than the one being laid, who is Jesus Christ. And if anyone builds on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, each one's work shall be revealed. For the Day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try each one's work as to what kind it is. If anyone's work which he built remains, he shall receive a reward. If anyone's work shall be burned up, he shall suffer loss. But he shall be saved, yet so as by fire.”
1 Corinthians 3:3-15

The work we do, no matter who’s name is attached to it must have God’s name attached to it. It must be focused on building God’s Kingdom and not mans, without jealousy or envy.

I have a dear friend who is a pastor of a church that rents a small building for Sunday and midweek services. When he drives past a large church in the area with a beautiful building and a large youth center, he might be inclined to be look upon the work their doing and say “Lord, why don’t I have a building like that? Haven’t I been faithful to what You called me to?” But he doesn’t, I know for a fact that this pastor actually prays for this church’s continued growth and effectiveness in their ministry.

Orphans where you live

Though I often speak of the 143 million+ orphans around the world.

This is an interesting look at the problem in of orphans in the US waiting for adoption.

http://www.icareaboutorphans.org/Default.aspx?Menu=2&SubMenu=66

State	Children WaitingFY 2006*	Churches*
Alabama	1,658	9,519
Alaska	722	906
Arizona	2,634	2,863
Arkansas	937	5,843
California	18,028	18,398
Colorado	700	3,310
Connecticut	1,360	2,450
Delaware	302	861
District of Columbia	618	734
Florida	7,478	13,979
Georgia	2,305	12,391
Hawaii	752	835
Idaho	545	1,141
Illinois	3,042	12,081
Indiana	3,343	8,612
Iowa	1,432	4,824
Kansas	2,032	4,398
Kentucky	2,083	6,225
Louisiana	1,079	7,045
Maine	691	1,286
Maryland	1,954	4,860
Massachusetts	2,704	3,333
Michigan	6,164	10,268
Minnesota	1,353	5,447
Mississippi	897	6,893
Missouri	2,714	7,860
Montana	608	1,283
Nebraska	971	2,533
Nevada	1,815	887
New Hampshire	250	887
New Jersey	4,672	5,734
New Mexico	858	1,615
New York	8,040	11,761
North Carolina	3,115	15,731
North Dakota	321	1,270
Ohio	4,011	13,364
Oklahoma	3,587	6,123
Oregon	2,776	3,093
Pennsylvania	3,559	14,435
Rhode Island	397	579
South Carolina	1,750	7,999
South Dakota	507	1,384
Tennessee	1,786	9,877
Texas	12,191	23,726
Utah	475	509
Vermont	251	541
Virginia	1,794	9,371
Washington	2,361	4,437
West Virginia	1,063	2,790
Wisconsin	1,205	5,510
Wyoming	209	702
Total	127,489	302,651

A friend from the Central African Republic

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:  1 Peter 2:9

I met this young man in the Central African Republic.  He is an orphan.

One thing that I remember well about him was the day I met him.  While the rest of the children at the project he attends were playing he came out and away from the crowd, wearing a paper crown and greeted me.  

It struck me that he was the only child with a crown on his head, and how different he was than the others.  At that moment I remembered the words of Peter, that as followers of Christ we are to be different from the crowd, and that as members of God's family we are in fact royalty - even if the crowns we wear while on earth are only made of paper.

A good word

But you brothers, do no grow weary in doing good.

2 Thes 3:13

Gold stars

I remember grade school well, perhaps because I have a child who came through grade school, one in the middle of it, and one about to enter.

One thing I remember vividly about my own school days as well as that of my children was the gold star chart. The chart in case you are not familiar is a simple way to motivate children to accomplish a goal by placing gold stars (or something similar) next to their name. It usually resulted in 2 things; excitement over some nominal reward for earning said stars, and competition/comparison between children.

Sometimes as adults we long for things of childhood, and I believe the gold stars are one of them. We long for recognition and to know that we are achieving an objective or subjective goal. And not only with other people, but also with God.

Work gets done for public recognition and each of us silently (or publicly) compared ourselves to the next guy.

Did I earn a gold star for that? I must have one for giving. I must have more gold stars than him, after all I'm a....(deacon, missionary, pastor, elder, board member, etc...)

I'm sorry to tell you this, but there is no divine gold star chart where we can check our own standing against others. No, the Lord has no chart with carefully placed stickers by which He compares our performance against one another.

Revelation 20:12 references "books" in which works are recorded. But it is important to note that those books are closed, ie not open for public inspection and comparisson. 

The standard God looks at is not how we're doing compared to the next guy, but are we being obedient to the standard He has called us to in scripture and to the obedience on His personal call on our lives.