The Abundantly More

Is this not the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you;

the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

you shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'

If you take away the yoke from your midst,

the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

if you pour yourself out for the hungry

and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness

and your gloom be as the noonday.

And the Lord will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail.

This is a passage from Isaiah 58:6-11 when the Lord is speaking to His people regarding their practice of fasting. At the beginning of the passage you see them petitioning the Lord saying,
 "Are we not seeking you and fasting and humbling ourselves?"
But the Lord's response is no. He calls them out on seeking Him for selfish gain and just checking it off the list. He speaks the truth here that we see Jesus speak and we also find in James, that the greatest commandment to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind is followed by loving your neighbor as yourself. That true religion that is pure before God is to care for orphans and widows in their affliction.
 Church, we are failing.
 We are just like the Israelites. We go to church Sunday after Sunday and raise our hands in praise and take notes on the sermon. We may even spend time in prayer and reading our Bibles throughout the week.  But for what?
To make us feel better? To check it off our list? To only seek the Lord for our benefit and comfort?
  Now don't think I am coming at you pointing my finger without having had God speak this very conviction to my heart. Yes, we just traveled across the world and adopted our son from a third world country where he would have otherwise had no access to the Gospel and his future was questionable at best with so many odds against him.
 But you know what? You know what I saw and felt and was spoken to me? Spoken to me not in a whisper but in a blood curdling scream? IT IS NOT ENOUGH!!! Now you may be sitting there thinking, "Oh come on. You just did an amazing thing by adopting a child." I have heard that over and over again... And sorry if this seems abrasive, but I'm tired of hearing it.
 There are 20 million orphans still in India alone. What about them? What about the brother and sister that were the same age as my oldest two who were begging on the street, asking us for money and food? I will never forget looking out of the back window of our cab and watching that 7 year old little girl sit on the ground and hungrily look through the snack foods we gave her deciding what to eat first. What about the single mother with her 2 babies sitting in the median of a crazy busy intersection peddling for money? What about the 153 million orphans around the world? What about the 1/2 million orphans in our own foster care system?
Guys the problem is HUGE!!!! And I'm sorry, but us adopting 1 of those children isn't enough. And yes, if you think I am trying to spur on conviction to those of you who haven't adopted, the answer is yes. Please feel the full weight of me, someone who has opened my heart and my home to an orphaned child, telling you that it is not enough for me to stop there...just sit in that for a minute and let it sink in...I'll wait...

Now I am not saying that everyone needs to go out and adopt, although some of you most definetly do. Statistically speaking, if one family in every American church adopted a child, there would no longer be children in our foster care system. Now I don't know about you, but that seems doable to me. I mean surely there is at least one family per church willing to do that? Honestly, there should be more than one family. When it comes to the church, we should be on the front lines of caring for the vulnerable in our communities whether that's adopting, fostering, helping restore families, visiting and feeding widows, providing for the poor, being a voice for marginalized, or welcoming the immigrant. Is it uncomfortable? Yes. Will it require sacrifice? Yes. And not just personal sacrifice from you, but sacrifice from even your kids. That is something I honestly hadn't prepared myself for upon coming home from India. My bio kids absolutely adore their new baby brother, but they have had to make sacrifices. Now they are small sacrifices in the grand scheme, but in the moment feel huge. And you know what? I struggled with guilt for that until a dear friend reminded me that God is using this to mold them too. That out of struggle and sacrifice, our eyes are opened wider and our hearts are made ready to receive more of what God has in store. Comfort is our enemy. Now I say that as I sit in my nice big, warm house with my nice big SUV in the garage...I know. But what is my heart after? What do I long for? A bigger, better house? A newer model of my SUV? Am I content or striving for more of what will never satisfy? Again, I am just speaking from my own convictions, but I know I'm not alone in it.

So what now? Where do you fit in all of this? I don't know. I don't know your story, your convictions, your desires. But I do know the Lord. I do know what His desire for His people, His church is. And it is not for us to seek Him for ourselves alone. It is for us to seek Him. And as He is pouring Himself out for us, we are to pour ourselves out for others. What does that look like for you? If you don't know yet, then ask Him, He will tell you.

Now I'm sure you were expecting my first blog after bringing Cai home to be a nice fluffy and sappy one. #sorrynotsorry But he is doing great. He is attaching extremely well, better than we expected. He is a happy baby who loves to laugh and play. And we are absolutely in love. There is so much joy that he has already brought to our family in the 3 weeks he's been home. God has been so good and so faithful over the past month. I have experienced Him in ways I never had before. I have been living in the "far more abundantly than all that we ask or think" and it is good. I invite you to join me here. There is enough abundance for you too, so step out of your comfort.

I will not leave you as orphans;

I will come to you.
- John 14:18