Yesterday, I was deeply moved by something that I read in a letter that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote to his son Christopher. As I reflected upon his words, it occurred to me that he touches on something that is profoundly relevant to the global orphan crisis. Tolkien writes:
“We all long for [Eden], and we are constantly glimpsing it: our whole nature at its best and least corrupted, its gentlest and most humane, is still soaked with the sense of ‘exile’. If you come to think of it, your (very just) horror at the stupid murder of the hawk, and your obstinate memory of this ‘home’ of yours in an idyllic hour (when often there is an illusion of the stay of time and decay and a sense of gentle peace) are derived from Eden” (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, 110).
One of the challenges for Christians in the Western world is that we are often guilty of trying to dry up our profound “sense of exile” with the nonabsorbent paper towels of the incomplete joys of this world. That’s not to say that it is wrong for Christians to enjoy themselves in the here-and-now. God gives His children many good gifts that we are to enjoy now with gratitude in our hearts. But our here-and-now enjoyment was never meant to be the way we deal with the deep ache of exile. When we deal with our “sense of exile” by using God’s good gifts to self-medicate, we will find ourselves moving away from the world’s most needy rather than to them. Self-medicating people are not easily mobilized for self-sacrificial service.
The reality is that we are in exile. Eden has been lost. We are exiles in the here-and-now (1 Peter 1:1). The period of time in which we live as exiles is deeply marked by suffering and unrest (Romans 8:18). The presence of 143,000,000 vulnerable and orphaned children in the world is irrefutable evidence of that fact.
Although we find ourselves in exile—still soaked with a deep sense of Eden-lost—God has not left us to wander aimlessly within it. He has not left us alone to cope with our deep sense of exile through self-medicating behavior. No, Jesus entered into our exile, became a man of sorrows, was forsaken by the Father at the cross in order that he might lead us out of our exile into eternal belonging. Jesus endured the very worst of our exile in order that he might bring us home!
What Jesus did through his life, death, and resurrection has provided us with “a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19-20) in the midst of our exile. As a result, we can enjoy the incomplete joys of this world without using them to deal with our deep sense of exile. Only when we rest in what Jesus has already done to one day bring us back home (Romans 8:19-23) are we able to move toward our world’s most needy.
The gospel takes those who are marked with a deep sense of exile, frees them from the “need” to self-medicate, and moves them out to serve the orphan, the widow, and the marginalized. Only by the power of the gospel can we do the self-sacrificial work of caring for orphans while soaked with the sense of exile.
This video was created from footage captured on Carolina Hope Christian Adoption Agency’s recent trip to Ethiopia with one of Desiring God’s cameramen. Every shot of this particular video was taken at one of orphanages with which we work, an orphanage that is located in a village with 20,000+ known cases of AIDS. It is a profoundly needy area. The video is interspersed with quotations from John Piper’s book Don’t Waste Your Life.
Marty McAlpine, Media Engineer at Desiring God, accompanied us on our trip to Ethiopia to video capture much of what we did while there. The director of the orphanage where the picture below was taken told us that many professional cameramen come through their particular village (a village with 20,000+ known cases of AIDS) to capture footage, but he had never seen any of them sit on the floor to film. They always film while standing in order to protect their health. The orphanage director then went on to say that he was deeply moved that Marty did not hesitate to sit on the floor to film these beautiful children. He saw Jesus in this action. Marty spent most of his time on the floor at this orphanage. I, for one, am very thankful to God for Marty’s service on this trip. My time with him was very edifying.
This picture, as well as the last, was taken in the neediest orphanage of the three with which we are working. These children have great food support needs, space needs, and clothing needs. Yet look at this little girl’s smile. This is a smile that is blossoming in the midst of profoundly difficult life circumstances. As you take a few minutes to look at her face, pray for her. Pray that God will supply all the food she needs each day. Pray that the orphanage will obtain more room so that 2-3 children do not have to sleep in the same small bed as they now do. Pray for her clothing needs. And most of all, pray that she will be adopted by a strong Christian family. (Donations can be made here.)
It has been my experience that many people do not really begin thinking about adoption theologically until they themselves are involved in adopting (or at least considering adopting) a child. Very often, the consideration to adopt a child precedes the consideration of the truth that God has graciously adopted us to be His children.
Here’s the link to the audio (streaming audio) of my interview early today. You can download the entire interivew here. I felt real freedom to talk about the gospel and adoption when that segment of the interview began. Thanks for your prayers.
Carolina Hope Christian Adoption Agency is pleased to announce the creation of its new blog: From Hope to Reality. If you are a blogger, please seriously consider linking to it. I think it will be a great resource that will provide information about important adoption issues and posts that will explore what adoption means theologically.
Please feel free to comment and asks questions about posts. That will help this adoption blog to better educate and encourage. For those of you interested in receiving new post updates, there’s a place where you can subscribe.
Many thanks to Josh Jensen, one of my colleagues at Carolina Hope, for all his work on creating and launching this new adoption blog!
This Thursday from 1 - 2 p.m. I’m being interviewed about my new position at Carolina Hope Christian Adoption Agency by Kevin Boling of Calling For Truth on WLFJ’s AM station (660) in Greenville, SC. It’s a great opportunity to talk about adoption. There are many exciting things happening both in the adoption world in general and at Carolina Hope in particular. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m posting this link to our most recent press release so that churches become aware of Carolina Hope’s passion for adoption and orphan ministry and our desire to serve churches in this ministry area. Please take a look.
As some of you know, I spent the last three years as an assistant professor of Bible and Theology. God gave me three great years teaching college students. I will most definitely miss the college setting. So what am I doing now that I’m no longer teaching? Well, God has provided me an amazing opportunity to serve in another area I’m very passionate about, namely, adoption. I am now the Ministry Outreach Coordinator for Carolina Hope Christian Adoption Agency, a liscensed agency that services both domestic and international adoptions. My responsibilities are (1) networking with pastors/churches, mission agencies, children’s homes, and other organizations to inform them of Carolina Hope’s established full-service adoption ministry; (2) speaking in churches, Bible study groups, and other venues to present adoption within the context of the larger story of redemption; and (3) writing content for Carolina Hope’s website and articles for publication. If you know of a ministry that might be interested in having me come to speak on orphan ministry in general and adoption in particular, please let me know.
Laura Beauvais-Godwin, the director of the agency, and her husband Ray, an adoption attorney, have written the book on adoption. It’s the best resource on adoption out there.
