Fostering and Adoption: What Does God Want Us to Do?
Many people are involved in the work of foster care and adoption, but there are even more who know little to nothing about this huge need in our community. For those who want to serve God in their every day lives, it is important for them to know what God says about this subject.
God puts a tremendous value on children. Jesus, Himself, showed a clear example of this when he told the disciples to let the little children come to Him, when they were instead trying to keep them from bothering Jesus. (Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14, and Luke 18:16) God also states that every child is precious and known to him before there are even born. (Psalm 139)
God is consistently portrayed in the Bible as a loving Father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5) and He repeatedly calls for us to seek justice for the fatherless and to defend their rights. This is portrayed in the Old Testament through laws given to help the defenseless (Exodus 22:22-24) as well as commanded in the New Testament as something believers must do to show true religion. (James 1:27)
Some people do not become involved in foster care or adoption because they do not know there is a need. As those who are closely involved in this world, it is our responsibility to spread the word. The need is HUGE! There are hearbreakingly large numbers of children who do not have a place to call home, especially older youths and teenagers.
Want to help? There are so many ways to get involved!
Others think that, if they are not equipped to take a child into their home, they cannot help. This is also not true, as there are numerous ways to help other families as they foster. Our agency helps connect volunteers with current foster families to provide meals, childcare, donations, and other services to help support them in daily life so they can devote more time to the children in their care. For many families, this additional support makes or breaks their ability to keep fostering.
Another thing to keep in mind is that, for most children in foster care, there are birth parents going through one of the worst times in their lives - being separated from their child(ren). These families also greatly benefit from encouragement and support from their community as they work to put their lives back together. There are numerous ways people can help in this area, either through their local church or another volunteer organization.
And of course, for those children whose families cannot parent them long term, adoption is a wonderful way to bless a child as well as enrich your own life beyond measure.
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