Last night, I watched a documentary called “Stuck,” and I was honestly not prepared for what I was about to see. My wife and I began the process of adoption a few months ago, so we were eager to watch a documentary about the struggles of the adoption process. I saw kids in institutions throughout the world being treated more like animals than human beings. I listened to a professor from Harvard essentially say kids who never make it out of institutions in third-world countries around the world have virtually no chance to be productive citizens. They will end up in prostitution, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, or homeless. And as I was watching last night, I looked at those innocent, helpless children who were in these institutions only because they were born in a country where a parent could not afford to feed them. So, they are placed in a single room building with 40-50 (or more) other kids. They receive no attention, no affection, no love. If you are a Christian and are reading this, I am challenging you to do something. After watching that documentary last night, I became so mad at God. I could not believe he would sit back and allow these children suffer and be treated like animals. Then I realized God has given His people the responsibility to reach out to these little ones. We are the church, and the church is the body of Christ. For those who have been called, we now become the hands and feet of Jesus. And as men and women of God, we have a responsibility to reach out to those in need. Matthew 25 makes it clear that the way we treat the least of these is how we are treating God (I will be preaching on Matthew 25 next Sunday), and we need to ask ourselves how we are treating God.
The problem we have as Americans is we suffer from depraved indifference. Eric Ludy has a powerful short film (you can view it HERE) explaining what this means. We have spent our lives in a country where we can shield ourselves from the less fortunate and needy if we want (and most of us have done just that). We read in the Bible where God has a special love for widows and orphans (Micah 6:8, James 1:27, Isaiah 1:16-17, etc.), and we might even pray for them, but the fact that kids are dying everyday because they do not have basic needs met does not motivate us to act. This is called depraved indifference, and it is unacceptable for people who claim to be Christians.
I am not writing this hoping that every person will go adopt a child, but I am writing this hoping that every person will pray about what they can do to help irradicate the orphan problem. After the documentary, I went and grabbed my son and began to sob. I can’t remember crying like that ever. I can’t imagine my son being in a position where he had no one to show him affection or love. And for the nearly 10 million kids in an insitution around the world, this is reality. These kids are destined for failure unless someone takes them in and becomes a mother or father to them. Last night, I looked at my son, Noah, and I asked myself how God could allow these kids to grow up in an institution, then be thrown into the world only to fail miserably because they have no idea how to cope and build relationships. Then they might die never hearing about the love of Jesus all because they were not born into a situation where parents loved them?? How could God allow this to happen? Then he said this to me, “How could you allow this to happen?” We are the body of Christ. We have been given the responsibility to care for those who have no voice. It is time for us to take action.
What can I do?
1.) View the “Stuck” documentary (it cost $13 to buy online) and sign the petition to help make adoptions easier for families who have this desire.
2.) Partner with a mission organization and take a short-term mission trip. Spend a week or two weeks loving on these children. This is what they need more than anything.
3.) Find a family who is adopting and ask them how you can help. Most people do not know how stressful and expensive the adoption process is. The entire process takes between 2-3 years, and the cheapest international adoptions are around $30,000.
4.) Donate money to organizations that are helping orphans and those trying to adopt. There are organizations like this everywhere. Organizations, such as The Reclaimed Project, are helping orphans around the world, as well as providing grants to assist families who are going through the adoption process.
5.) Sponsor a child who is orphaned. There are many organizations that will allow you to do this. You get a picture of the child you are sponsoring, and you can even take a trip to see the child.
6.) ADOPT A CHILD! At the end of the day, these children need families. If you have been praying about adopting or thinking about adopting, maybe it is time to begin the process.
