The Fatherless
The Scriptures speak much of what it means to minister and take care of the fatherless. Do not take advantage of them. To not neglect them. But rather show compassion, generosity, and love to those who are put in orphanages. In the book of James, it gives a very challenging message of what it means to take care of such ones, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (1:27). Worship that is pure, and a means of not allowing the world to influence your pursuit of holiness, one way of doing these two critical factors is to “visit orphans in their affliction.” To visit them means to look upon them with such compassion and love, that you will want to be part of the solution of giving such dear children hope in a life marked with hopelessness. The ultimate means of showing such hope is to invite them in your home — adopting them.
A testimony: Never has SOS seen such graphic need for ministering to the fatherless than we did in Nigeria. Working with Voice of the Martyrs, this need to visit the fatherless came to its highest level. There was an orphanage that started with 10 orphans. Within five years it turned into 450+ orphans… at one orphanage. And these dear children were orphans because their mothers and fathers were killed for their faith by Muslim extremist. It was absolutely heart-wrenching to see so many children without a mom and dad, without hope. There was a young boy named James. At 10 years old, not only did he witness his mom and dad being killed, but himself became a victim of an attack with a machete that left him with multiple wounds, even on his head. He received the highest of medical attention, was put in a private school to be educated, received critical counseling, was “adopted“ by Nigerians and Americans who were working at the orphanage. It’s a story of Hope, at its highest level. When Isaiah says beauty will rise from ashes, this young man James is a testimony of that.
Please join us and help us — help and care for the most vulnerable and downtrodden people group on this planet… those who are left truly as fatherless because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Beauty can rise from ashes. Please help us be a part of that beauty.