Orphan No More

Monday, May 16, 2005

"China's Lost Girls" - that's what they called the National Geographic special that described China's "one child per family" law that has led to the abandonment of countless baby girls. But the special went on to describe the growing number of American families who want one of those little girls, who otherwise would spend her whole life in an orphanage. That came to life recently when some close friends started down that year-long process of bringing together an abandoned little girl with an American family. Finally, that long wait was over, and they were on a plane to China. When they got to their hotel room, there was an empty crib. It wasn't empty the next night. No, they were taken to the adoption center where this precious little girl they were adopting was placed in their arms, and that night she fell asleep in her new father's arms. As the family welcomed them at the airport back home, this girl, who only days before had belonged nowhere, was - and always would be - enveloped in love.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Orphan No More."

I couldn't help but see myself in what has happened with that little orphan. Oh, I had two loving parents, so I was blessed not to be an orphan physically. But I have been a spiritual orphan - without the love that my soul was made for; without the love of the God the Bible calls our "Heavenly Father." We are, in the Bible's words, "created by Him and for Him" ( Colossians 1:16). But, again in God's words in His book, "Your iniquities (that's every wrong thing we've ever done) have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you" ( Isaiah 59:2).

Because we're missing the Father we were created for, we really are spiritual orphans. And we've been feeling it all our lives - whether we know the reason or not. Maybe one of these words would describe some of your emotional autobiography: abandoned, rejected, excluded, betrayed, abused, lonely. Maybe a true sense of belonging has eluded you all these years even though you've done a lot of things in hopes that you would belong. We make a lot of mistakes for love. And no matter how close our family or friends may be, there's still that unexplainable loneliness deep down inside. It's cosmic loneliness. We're lonely for God. Maybe we're even pretty religious but we're still missing the only love relationship that can satisfy the heart of a spiritual orphan.

My friends went a long way to bring a little girl into their family. God went a long way to bring you into His - all the way from His heaven to hell on a cross. That's where God's Son absorbed all the guilt and all the punishment for every wrong thing you have ever done, so it would never have to keep you from your Heavenly Father again. So, in John 14:18, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus makes this awesome promise: "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." And He has today - where you are right now.

Whatever you're in the middle of, Jesus has come to you today to bring you into His family. But He won't force His love on you. You need to choose it, which means recognizing that you really are in trouble with God because of your sin, and reaching out to Jesus as the only One who can rescue you from that trouble. Because He's the only One who died for your sin - and then He came back three days later to prove He can give you life that never ends.

This could be your day to finally belong to the very God who made you and who made you for a relationship with Him. It starts when you tell Jesus with all your heart, "I'm Yours." If you want that and you'd be interested in seeing in print exactly what the Bible says about beginning that relationship, well then I hope you'll let me send you my booklet about it called Yours For Life. Just let me know you want it.

The Father's arms are open and they're waiting for you. He loves you. He wants you. Come to Him. You will be an orphan no more.