Building the Church Through Adoption

My daily reading through God's Word usually encompasses about three different sections of Scripture. Right now I am working my way through Job, the minor prophets, and the Gospel of Matthew. Some mornings that results in a handful of lessons learned, but every once in a while, the Spirit generously lines things up just right and it all fits together like a beautiful puzzle. Today was one of those days. Job 31 is one of Job's rants in the midst of his suffering and is, to a certain extent, a distasteful self-justification. However, the thing about the book of Job for me is you have to pick out the redeeming statements in the midst of a context that is less than ideal (in this case, showing that you deserve better from God because you do good things . . . not recommended). Nevertheless, here is what Job said in vs. 16-23 of chapter 31: "If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless -- but from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my birth I guided the widow -- if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a garment, and his heart did not bless me for warming him with fleece from my sheep, if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in my court, then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of His splendor I could not do such things." Despite the context his statement, I was struck by the noble pursuit of Job to see the needs around him, to see his own provision from God, realize it wasn't his but God's and then give it and himself away to the fatherless, needy, and widow.

I followed that up with reading the first chapter of the short book of Haggai and came across this. "Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 'Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?' Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.'" Haggai was appointed by God to stir the hearts of the Israelites to rebuild the temple, the place where God's glory was to dwell and pointed out their faulty use of resources to build their own homes, fill their own stomachs, and pad their own savings accounts.

The translation for today is this: God's temple is the hearts of His people, His church and as His church, His children, we are commissioned with this work of building His church. Yet we are prone to focusing our time and attention on establishing our own kingdoms known as comfort, ease, pleasure, and independence. What Haggai points out to the Israelites of His day, is becoming more and more clear for me today, that the Church is in desperate need of being built, so what must I sacrifice to build it. Adoption is not a cheap or priceless venture, and I'm not talking financially (although I could). It is choosing to bring another person into our home, to endure all that he will bring with him in the way of rebellion, selfishness, and pride for the sake of introducing Him to Christ and His ways that he might be one more brick in the glory that is God's church. How many more will we adopt? Not sure, but the Lord knows. What I do know is that those who call themselves the church should be on the alert for how we should support the fatherless, either through adopting ourselves or supporting Christ-followers who do so. The fatherless of today are part of the temple God is constructing for His glory and we must not be guilty of padding our lifestyle, feeding our faces, or stuffing our leaking purses while the temple is yet to be built. My takeaways . . .

This is consistent with a few sermons from one of my current heroes of the faith, Francis Chan that I would point you to and challenge you with. Go to http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/special/media_player.html and listen to Chan's messages from March 8th and 15th to be challenged along with me in this area. Well worth your time. And if you haven't read "Crazy Love" by him, you need to. http://www.crazylovebook.com/

Praying you are challenged with me today.