An Orphan’s Story

I married the granddaughter of an orphan! When my wife’s grandfather was a young boy, his father died and his mother remarried. Unfortunately, her new husband turned out not to be the kind of man she thought he was. He held no regard for her children; when she died, he considered them disposable and had them removed from his home. My wife’s grandfather was a 14-year-old boy when the authorities placed him in an orphanage where he was physically abused. Eventually, the abuse was discovered, and he was moved to a foster home where he was loved and cared for. In time, he came to faith in Jesus Christ and married my wife’s grandmother. Together, they established a Christian home—a home that produced a legacy of faith with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who have grown up loving Jesus. What a great story, right? An “orphan’s story” with a happy ending!

An Orphan Crisis

Unfortunately, that’s the exception. There is an orphan crisis in our world. I was shocked to discover that there are more than 153 million orphans worldwide. That’s staggering! If orphans were a country of their own, their population would rank 9th in the world, ahead of Russia. One hundred million of them live or work on the streets. They survive by selling flowers or cigarettes or by watching cars; many sell their bodies for sex or engage in criminal activity. Many of these street children are subjected to abuse, neglect, and exploitation; in extreme cases, they are murdered by “death squads” paid by governments to “clean up” the image of their cities.

It’s Easy To Become Hard-Hearted

So, why am I sharing all this with you? Why should you care? It’s so easy to become hardened to these images, isn’t it? We’re bombarded with infomercials—the sad faces, the sad music, the compelling stories—all meant to move us to reach into our wallets and pay up. We might even try to rationalize that many of the agencies claiming to help are just siphoning off huge amounts from donations to support elaborate lifestyles for big-name CEOs. But let me tell you why this is important: because we can’t just ignore what God’s Word says about it. God has an opinion, and we need to listen!

Look After Orphans

James 1:27, a statement inspired by the Holy Spirit, says: “Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” What was that? “Pure religion” is looking after orphans and widows? Is James supporting a salvation of good deeds? No, he’s not. The book James authored dovetails quite nicely with Paul’s letter to the Romans. James is not saying that your good deeds will result in salvation. Rather, he is saying that the result of genuine, saving faith in Jesus—or “pure religion”—is to love others, including orphans, widows, and the marginalized of society. God gives us a heart to love and serve them.