Precious in His Sight!

I just got home from a benefit dinner. The theme was Precious in His Sight. A friend asked if our church’s praise band would sing for the dinner and if I would play instrumental piano music at the beginning of the dinner. It was absolutely the most posh-posh thing I’ve attended in years. The plates were $100 a piece. And there was a silent auction and much money was raised. We had a great time singing. The speakers were very good and the food was amazing. I was so thrilled to be a part of helping my friend and her family raise money to bring home at least 2 children from Ethopia to join their already medium size family.

You see they have three of their own children, then they’ve worked in foster care for more than 20 years, and adopted three of their foster kids (all special needs), their second daughter was in a very serious car accident about five years ago and now she has special needs. You would think, “Don’t they already have enough on their plate? Why do they want more?” But for my friend and her husband, when they see children who don’t have anyone who loves them personally; when they see children who don’t have just the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, never-mind the sense of belonging to a family … they just feel like they could do more. So they are stepping out in faith to do just that … to do more.

James 1:27

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

A lot of statistics were thrown out tonight but there’s just one that I’d like to share with you. Do you realize that if just 7% of the people who say that they are Christians would adopt one child that we wouldn’t have any orphans in the world? With all of the verses there are in the Bible directly telling us to care for orphans it would seem that we would take a deeper interest in either adopting a child ourselves or in helping someone else adopt, or in helping at an orphanage or funding an orphanage. Oh, I know, there’s all kinds of reasons why I can’t adopt, or why I can’t help, or even why I don’t have any money to give. But I’m wondering, am I really willing to do whatever it takes to follow God in obedience? Am I looking to see what would really please His heart or am I consumed with what will please my heart? Please take the time to read these verses and see if God might be speaking to you, I know He spoke to me.

1 John 3:16-18

¹⁶This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ¹⁸Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Job 31:17-23

¹⁷ if I have kept my bread to myself,
not sharing it with the fatherless-

¹⁸ but from my youth I reared him as would a father,
and from my birth I guided the widow- …

²¹ if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
knowing that I had influence in court,

²² then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
let it be broken off at the joint.

²³ For I dreaded destruction from God,
and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

Isaiah 1:15-18

¹⁵ When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;

¹⁶ wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,

¹⁷ learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed. ^a]">[a]
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.

¹⁸ "Come now, let us reason together,"
says the LORD.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

Matthew 18:5, 6

⁵"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. ⁶But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Matthew 25:31-46

³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."