"Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed." Psalm 82:3
I've heard this Scripture associated with foster care, adoption, and/or caring for international orphans many times. And it has always stirred me--how could it not? So direct, to the point.
And sometime recently, this passage has come to life in a new and additional dimension for me. I remember very clearly one day when I read it quickly on a piece of literature for an organization serving children. I felt the Lord ask me, "Do you suppose you get to choose which fatherless to defend?" Ouch.
There are many, many mothers and fathers of children in the foster care system who grew up (and are still today) fatherless in the earthly sense. Many, many of these mothers and fathers were in the foster care system themselves as children. Can I choose to have compassion for, engage with, and support only the fatherless that I deem 'innocent'?
I am becoming more and more convinced that the part of my heart that wants to help the vulnerable that "don't deserve this" is not a full response to God's command for me to love. My compassion must also be available to those who have had some years under their belt to make mistakes, to cause harm to themselves or others (much like I have in many ways). So, I'm praying the Lord gives me a desire to do these things out of a love for Him above all else. If I'm doing it for the response I get, the feeling I have, or the 'result' that happens, I will always be prone to serve only those who I deem worthy. And that's a place of judgement I have no business being in.
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