The Prophet Hosea is telling the people of Isreal about the need for repentance and the promise of an all-loving and all-forgiving God. In 14:3 he says that the orphan finds mercy in God, and to no longer attribute the good work of God to ourselves because He is the true source of goodness, mercy, and compassion.
I think this also applies to human orphan care when we take care of orphaned children because God asks us to, and we share God’s mercy by doing that and then attributing that act of compassion to God—who deserves all the glory.
“I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him.” (14:4) This reminder of how deeply and truly God loves and forgives us can humble us and remind us of how important it is to extend that absolute, unreserved and fearless love to orphans.
The message about caring for orphans is so clear throughout the Bible. Not only does God specifically ask us to care for orphans in James 1:27, but we also see many examples that describes us, God’s children, using orphans as a metaphor. God knows us in all our sinfulness, and yet over and over again He has chosen to care for us. If we can see the whole world as a part of God’s family, then extending compassion towards orphaned children comes naturally as a way of showing an understanding of what God has done for us.
Caroline Peoples recently moved to Prattville with her husband from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she graduated from the University of North Carolina with a degree in Public Relations.
Caroline believes that adoption is an inspiring way of sharing Christ’s redemptive love. She hopes that, through her position as Community Relations Manager at The Adoption Law firm, she will be able to share the importance of this act of love and servitude, and to help bring others into and through the process of adoption.
