Tension, Mercy, and Orphans

Tension.  A high-wire pulled taut between two poles; a bow stretched back as far as it can go.  Christ's call is rarely to the "golden mean," a comfortable-but-often-flaccid moderation that shuns any extreme.  That was Aristotle.  Rather, Jesus' disciples most often must grip two seeming opposites, both held tenaciously in pregnant tension: grace and truth, humility and boldness, justice and mercy.

At its worst, Christianity loses its tautness.  We seize hold of one pole with white-knuckled grasp and abandon the other.  At its best, our faith is tense as a bowstring in the hands of a master Archer.

We catch a snapshot of this tension in the seeming competition between evangelism and mercy ministry.  Despite wide affirmation that "we can do both," most Christian organizations tend to emphasize one and under-develop the other.

Yet Christ's way was to hold insistently to both, always interweaving "preaching the Good News" and "healing every disease…" (Matthew 4:23).  As we follow him in this, we come to see the two are not competing after all.  Far from it.  Tangible mercy in Christ's name bears compelling witness to the Good News like nothing else on earth.  Meanwhile, the true Gospel is of such glory that both apathy and injustice melt before it; those embracing it, like Zacchaeus, restore wrongs done and extend self in sacrificial giving.

This vision may be nowhere more evident than in the burgeoning movement of Christians committed to both the Gospel and the "cause of the fatherless" (Isaiah 1:17) through adoption, foster care and global orphan initiatives.

Care for orphans is mercy at its most poignant, no doubt.  But every act on behalf of the orphan also proclaims the Gospel, revealing to a watching world the heart of the God who "sets the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:5-6); it re-tells the story of the God who pursued and adopted us when we were destitute and alone.  A passion for orphans also plunges believers into discipleship as well.   To care for orphans in any meaningful way most always requires personal, sustained involved in the life of a child.  In the process, we are drawn beyond a comfortable religion of self-actualization to a costly but vibrant faith; and there we encounter Jesus Christ as never before in the need, sorrow and beauty of the orphaned child.

This road, of course, is rarely easy.  Any child's journey as an orphan began in tragedy, and likely got worse from there.  They carry with them deep wounds and gaping needs that cannot merely be brushed away like tears.  The healing journey is a long one.   So it should not be undertaken alone, but rather amidst a community of believers that share a commitment to the same vision, walking together in mutual support, encouragement and aid.

Churches that have embraced this vision find that care for orphans comes with profound consequences for the theology, actions and communal life of parishioners.  From massive bodies like Saddleback and Irving Bible Church to the three small churches that teamed to form Project 2.2.1., pastors and lay leaders find that care for orphans nurtures disciples.   It grows community and broadcasts the Gospel like no "this-is-the-fix-you’re-looking-for" program they've encountered.   As one pastor of a few-year-old church in Illinois shared with me recently, "As church members have caught a vision for God's concern for orphans and then become adoptive and foster parents, I see the whole body developing a deeper sense of God's father love for each of us.  And the outside community is noticing it, too.  They're wondering why all these Christians are caring for kids no one else seems to care about."

So when churches plan sermons and events in the spirit of something like the upcoming Orphan Sunday (November 7), they are not merely highlighting another good cause.  Rather, in exploring God's heart for the fatherless and how we can reflect this heart in adoption, foster care and other forms of orphan care globally, they are holding together mercy ministry and the very Gospel.  Such a vision transforms not only the lives of orphans, but also the Church, and a watching world as well.  We could never engineer this kind of outcome, but we can anticipate it whenever we refuse to accept less than the biblical tensions to which we are called.

3 Comments »

1. Great article Jedd! Looking forward to gathering with @catalystleaders as we embrace this move of God on behalf of orphans and the Church. Catalyst folks, check out OrphanSunday.org and join the movement!

   Comment by Gary Schneider - Sep 27, 2010 @ 09:09 AM

2. Some really great stuff here, Jedd.  I appreciate your careful theology established at the beginning of the article. 

   It is true that the mercy we extend to others, orphans in this case, is a matter of reflecting the mercy shown to us by God in the person of Jesus Christ.  And you are right, preaching the gospel and doing good works are not at odds with each other at all.  Rather, they work in tandem together. 

   The helpful analogy I use is that proclaiming the gospel is the soundtrack to the good works given us by God to do.

   Comment by Eric Foley - Sep 30, 2010 @ 10:14 AM

3. Loved this article! It made me think of James 1:27 “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”  The Great Commision is integral to orphan ministry. Saved, healed and delivered is God’s heart for His beloved children.

   Comment by Colleen Coombs - Oct 01, 2010 @ 03:40 PM

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