Gospel Prism

Here is a sermon I preached to my church after I returned from South Africa in 2005. Hopefully, it will help to explain why we are going again this year:

The Harvest Is Rotting

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.
James 1:27

Once again, I’d like to thank everyone of you who prayed for us as we visited South Africa. Without your prayers, I don’t believe the Lord would have worked in our hearts in the way He did those two weeks. And my prayer now is that those prayers would bear fruit by Wellspring’s desire to care for the physical orphans as we continually care for the spiritual orphan.

Today’s message is a reflection on a meeting we had with George Snyman, head of Hands at Work, a ministry to orphans and widows as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa. As I listened to him speak, I could feel my stomach churn with sadness and conviction. He spoke about the harvest as not only being plentiful and ripe, but it was now rotting because there were too few workers for the field. And that image really stuck with the six of us. He then put it into perspective by saying that although we here in the US were aghast by the loss of life during the attack on the World Trade Center during 9/11, no one in the West blinked an eye by some of these terrible stats:

• In Burundi 2003, there were 200,000 orphans because of AIDS. 25,000 adults and children died of AIDS there.
• In South Africa, there were 230,000 CHILDREN infected with HIV. 370,000 people died of AIDS in that year. There were 1,100,000 orphans due to AIDS deaths and that number is increasing daily.
• In South Africa, the number of children as the head of household is growing exponentially as the elderly generation (grandparents) slowly begin to die off. The 20s to 40s are virtually being wiped out of existence due to AIDS/HIV.

It is estimated that in Africa, there are 10,000 children dying each day due to AIDS and other diseases. George told us that while the West contemplates their convictions and makes plans, there simply is no time to make plans because the field is dying literally. We were with some orphans at the Lula Center, a place where Hands at Work Africa cares for the fatherless. And it is sobering to think that statistically some of those kids have AIDS, and some will die of that disease by the time we return. And then he quoted this text in James 1:27, “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.” I had always known that God certainly cares for the orphan. The Bible constantly mentions the orphan and the widow. But orphans seem too far removed from us. Here in the US, there are no orphanages. Children are placed in foster care, and so it can be very easily to overlook the stark reality that there are many children in this world who are fatherless. So why does God care so much for the orphan?

Because it is his nature as a Father

First, God cares for the orphan because it is his nature as a Father. James makes a point of describing God as “Father” in James 1:27 which I think he does this with clear intentionality. Within the very character of God is the essence of perfect Fatherhood. Psalm 68:4-5 says: “His name is the LORD and rejoice before him. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.” In other words, as the perfect Father, God’s nature is to empathize with every child who has no earthly father. When George Snyman was speaking to us, he gave us these words, “At the Lula Center (the center for orphans), you have to stop and think that every child there has no father or mother.” And thinking of this sad truth gave me much to think about. I began to think about my own children. What would they be like if they had no father or mother? They would have no direction. They would be frightened and lonely and heartsick. They would be lost. What God is telling us here is that if I, as a limited earthly father can feel the remotest feelings of compassion and sympathy for the orphan, how much more the perfect Heavenly Father who is the Father of the fatherless? It is for this very reason that in Leviticus 19 and Deuteronomy 14:28-29, God builds into the Law a system to care for the orphan, the widow, the poor. This is who God is as a God. He is a Father of the fatherless and everything that comes from Him, everything that rightfully represents Him will have this facet of concern for the orphan. This is why a right religion, a right worship of God, a church that desires such worship, will also have a concern for the orphan.

Because a Disregard for the Orphan Manifests a False Faith

Second, God cares for the orphan because a blatant disregard for the orphan manifests a false faith. I know this sounds harsh but so much of Scripture, including James 1:27, leads me to this conclusion. Again 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans…” If pure religion, that is pure faith before God, is to visit (care for) the orphan, then it makes sense that impure religion is to have a disregard for the orphan. I know there is a fallacy in this logic because this doesn’t always have to be the case. But we can see from the rest of Scripture, especially the prophetical books, that the disregard of the orphan was often indicative of an idolatrous heart.

In the book of Isaiah, God firmly rebukes Israel for their idolatry. They were supposed to be His people. They were supposed to trust Him and yet they continually disobeyed Him, failing to trust virtually every promise that He had made with them. Remember in Leviticus 19 and Deut., God had embedded into the Law that when the farmers harvested the crops, they were to make certain they only went over the land once. Anything left over was meant for the poor because it was in God’s very nature to care for the fatherless and the widow. And yet, the people’s greed overtook them and they failed to keep even this small promise. They wanted very scrap for themselves and their families, perhaps even justifying their “need” to have a safety net and thus they couldn’t “afford” to leave anything for the poor. But they continued to offer sacrifices to God, abiding by the rituals of the Law and so God rebukes them in Isaiah 1:13-15:

Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your evil assemblies. 14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 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.

What were they doing wrong that would cause God to refuse to listen to them? Isaiah 1:17 gives us the answer: “Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” In other words, they thought they were doing right by keeping the external practices of faith, but their hearts were far from God because they were not doing right. Doing right is what James calls religion that is pure and undefiled. Now don’t get me wrong. You can certainly care for the orphan and have no love for God. There are many humanitarians in this world who are doing exactly that. But what Scripture is saying to the church is that people who claim they worship God by having all of the rituals of worship in place and yet, neglect the fatherless and the widow, is manifesting a false faith. Because God is the Father of the Fatherless and when we neglect care for the orphan, we act as though God was not their ultimate Provider, and we undermine the character of God and ultimately the glory of God.

George Mueller was one of the great people of faith who lived in the 1800s. Of all the work that He did for the Lord, from his model prayer life to His ministry pastoring the same church for 60 years to his 16 years of missionary work after the age of 70, perhaps his greatest achievement was the establishment of 5 orphan houses which cared for 10,024 orphans in his lifetime. To put this in perspective in 1834 when Mueller began his work, there were only 3600 orphans that were accommodated in all of England. Twice that number of children UNDER 8 were in prison. Because of Mueller’s work, it was said a new emphasis on caring for orphans arose around the country so that 100,000 orphans were cared for. And perhaps the most remarkable part of it all was that he never asked anyone for a cent to help care for the orphans. It was totally through prayer. Why was this so critical to him? Because caring for the orphan was not the end goal. No, it was a means to the end of worshipping a God who was great and deserves glory as a Father of the Fatherless. Mueller writes:

The three chief reasons for establishing an Orphan-House are: 1. That God may be glorified, should He be pleased to furnish me with the means, in its being seen that it is not a vain thing to trust in Him; and that thus the faith of His children may be strengthened. 2. The spiritual welfare of fatherless and motherless children. 3. Their temporal welfare.

John Piper comments on George Mueller’s passion: “The orphan houses exist to display that God can be trusted and to encourage believers to take him at his word.” George Mueller understood so clearly that caring for orphans, what God does because He is a Father, means taking God at His Word, believing that God really does provide for the orphan because of His own glory. And this is pure religion or true faith.

Because God Understands suffering because He Himself suffered

Third, God cares for the orphan because God understands suffering because He Himself suffered. Again James 1:27 says: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.” There is something in the very condition of the orphan and the widow that depicts suffering, and of course this makes sense. When we were at the Lula Center, one of the women working there told me that just the past Saturday, they had to bury a six-year old who most likely died of complications with HIV. And then she told me that this was a regular occurrence. Regular occurrence? How many times do we hear of the death of a child that we personally know? This is no regular occurrence where we are. A death of child is a terrible thing. A death of a child that becomes a regular occurrence is even worse. And who mourns over the passing of such children? What father or mother is there grieving over this precious girl’s life? No one. That is the cause of the fatherless and that is why only God grieves truly as a father with the passing of each orphan. That is His heart and He understands because He Himself suffered at the death of His Son. He gave His Son to a world who would condemn and ridicule and despise His Son. Romans 8:32 says that God did not spare His own Son so that we could live eternally with the Father. 1 Peter 3:18 tells us that Christ died for our sins to bring us close to the Father. God the Father understands suffering better than any human being who has ever lived. And so when the cry of the orphan in the midst of the agony and pain and dereliction goes to God, He understands because He heard a far greater cry of agony when His own Son was forsaken by Him on the cross for our sins, as Jesus shouted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”

Because caring for the orphan reminds us of our rescue from orphanness

Finally, God cares for the orphan because caring for the orphan reminds us of our rescue from orphanness. In Deut. 24:17-18, God says to the Israelites: “17 Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.” Thus, the reason for this command to care for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow was so that they would remember that they the Israelites, God’s people, were once the oppressed and defenseless. They were once slaves, and in many ways orphans themselves. It is one of the most unnerving things to see, when a person who once was horribly oppressed can quickly revert to being the oppressor. During the Rwandan genocide, the Hutus were so malicious to the Tutsis, never learning the lesson of what it meant to be oppressed once by the Tutsis. Instead, their evil was far worse because they forgot what it meant to be oppressed. If we forget what it meant to be rescued from sin and refuse to forgive others or even neglect the orphan, we act as though we never truly understood what it meant to be saved in the first place. By neglecting the orphan, we reject our own redemption as sinners saved by grace alone. We bask in our comforts too much and forget that God wants us to bask in our salvation by longing for others to experience the same joy we have in Jesus. And one way this happens is when we serve those who are most defenseless in our world. We bring food and water and most of all the Good Ness about Jesus Christ to those with most need because we understand so deeply our own need for the Gospel.

So you see, we cannot simply turn a blind eye to the plight of the orphan and the widow. God’s nature won’t let us. True faith won’t let us. And the Gospel that saved us for God Himself, adopted us into His family, and understands the suffering of the orphan, simply won’t let us. So what can we do?

1. Come and See – To a man, I know that the Africa team would say that our words simply cannot do justice to what we experienced. Sure, we’ll give you a presentation, but you must see for yourself. I know that Scripture’s strong premise to care for the fatherless should be motivation enough. But there is nothing like witnessing things for yourself. Next year, we will continue to work with Hands at Work Africa and bring the Gospel and mercy to the orphans of sub-Saharan Africa. Our hope is to possibly send two teams, one to South Africa and one to Zambia to care for the increasing number of orphans in Africa. Please, right now, consider and pray about going. Take a meaningful vacation next year. Talk to one of the guys who went this past year and ask them about their experience. Come to the Africa Team’s presentation on Sunday, June 5th and see the pictures and the video and maybe God right now is asking you to go and care for the fatherless.

2. Study for Oursleves – I have only given you a handful of the biblical texts that speak about the orphan and the fatherless, not to mention the myriad of others that talk about the widow, the poor and the oppressed. But if you are sitting there thinking, “I don’t really think I have to be concerned about such things as a Christian,” or “Aren’t there other things to focus on as believers such as our church’s growth, small groups, parenting classes, how to find a good mate, evangelism to co-workers,” then please study the Bible for yourself. God’s very heart is behind these words and His nature is wrapped up in His compassion for the fatherless. We will never fully know the life He wants us to enjoy unless we see the heart that He has for the fatherless, orphan and widow. And Scripture is filled with such reminders.

3. Consider Adoption – I know this is a tremendous step and of course this does not come lightly. And you might be thinking, “What difference will adopting one child make when there are millions who are orphans?” Well, Scripture tells us that he who is faithful over little things, God will bless over many things. When we were in Africa, I was blessed to see that many of the Western missionaries had black African children which they adopted. The thought that came to my mind was, “Why did they choose that child?” After all, at the Lula Center, we worked with so many children. It would be so hard picking one when all of them needed to be adopted. And yet, I know that the Lord leads us particularly to that one child. But we need to first even consider adoption as a possibility.

4. Provide material support – Raising orphans takes financial resources and I know that God can and wants to raise us up to support those who have virtually nothing. Relative to so much of the world, I know that I have much. And boy does this give me perspective every time I think I have so “little.” But you and I and this church, can do more to meet the needs of so many orphans. We saw children who were dying because of the inability to get medicine that would cost a few dollars. So many kids dying of diarrhea because of lack of medicine. You might be thinking, “Will my few dollars really make a difference?” Yes, it does! It can save one life, really. We saw this to be true. We saw people growing gardens for orphans from nothing more than some seedlings, that’s it. And that is feeding many orphans. My hope is that through Hands at Work, we can partner with them to make a real difference in the lives of so many orphans in Africa, many who truly live because this ministry believes in the glory of God.