Preview - Christian Reformed Church

Day 2
Though God reigns in holiness and majesty, he
stoops down to care for orphans. His father heart
can do no less. In fact, God initiated the first
“adoption agency” and set it in motion through
Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. When Jesus
was with his disciples, he promised that he
would not leave them as orphans (John 14:18).
Through his death on the cross, we were adopted
into God’s family. And through the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit at Pentecost we have been given
a constant reminder of our familial relationship
with God and each other through Christ.
The First Adopter wants his children to follow his
lead and care for the orphan among us. In fact,
according to the apostle James, if we care nothing
for orphans, we can’t claim to be Christ-followers
—“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure
and faultless is this: to look after orphans and
widows in their distress” (James 1:27).
That’s something that World Renew takes to heart.
Elvinah Spoelstra, a social worker and early World
Renew/CRWRC staff member from the United
States, became a champion of orphans when she
joined The Christian Adoption Program of Korea
(CAPOK) in 1966. Years earlier, the Korean War
(1950-1953) left two million civilians dead, leaving
behind many orphans. Other orphans were
“G.I. babies,” children of Korean women and
international soldiers. These children’s vast needs
were exacerbated by the traditional Korean view
of family ties, which was inhospitable to children
without parents or with bloodlines that weren’t
“purely Korean.” These orphans could not be legal
citizens of Korea, and adoption outside of one’s
own family was stigmatized.
Under Spoelstra’s leadership, CAPOK moved
from being a custodial childcare program into
God’s Father Heart
Psalm 68:5
a true adoption program. Her efforts inspired
CAPOK to help Korean Christians advocate successfully
for adoption laws and child welfare
laws. Because of her work, cultural attitudes to
adoption changed, allowing children to be placed
in loving families within their nation of birth.
Between 1962 and 1975, CAPOK placed more
than 2,000 homeless children in Korean homes.
Today, millions of children are still in need.
Though World Renew is no longer involved in
Korea, it is actively helping children in poverty
around the world. Some of these children have
been orphaned by the crisis of AIDS in the developing
world. Others have had to leave school or
home to find work in order to support themselves
because of extreme poverty. World Renew is
working in numerous communities to help adults
increase their food production and income. In this
way, parents can support their children, children
can stay in school, and orphans can find a home
with extended relatives and community members
instead of being taken away from the home they
know. Pray that God will use these World Renew
programs to reveal his father heart to the world.
Prayer
Father of the fatherless, we praise and thank you
that we are no longer orphans, but that we are
members of your family. Fill our hearts with love
for your children all over the world. Help us to
take action to support them. In Jesus’ name, amen.
action
Make a list of 10 blessings we experience by
being children of parents in North America. Put
10 cents in Peter Fish for each one.