We are blessed to be a part of a ministry that is coming alongside the Church and helping as the Body of Christ responds to the spirit of adoption.  Orphan Justice Center (OJC) is sounding loud the message that there are 163 million orphans around the world that are in need of care and a loving home.

Last year, a mom who had adopted children from an international orphanage contacted us.  She and her husband adopted special needs children with the best of intentions. As happens with many, they found it very difficult parenting children from a hard and abusive background.  When this mother contacted us, her husband had left her and she was alone and overwhelmed.  Our team was able to come around her and encourage her.  We prayed consistently for the restoration of their marriage and for restoration for her children.  God did a miracle.  Her husband returned and he is fully embracing his role in leading and caring for his family.  The children are doing well too.  On a recent visit to see us they let us know that they were so grateful that we reached out and helped them get through that really difficult time.  He thanked us for believing in him and helping them to keep their family together.

We are seeing so much fruit in giving tools to parents.  They need training in how to understand the complex issues that cause a child to hold on to anger, bitterness and fear, despite the fact that they are safe and in a loving home.   Parenting a foster child or adopted child may be very different than parenting a child that has grown up in a loving environment.

Often we hear people quote James 1:27 and we are thrilled that the church is responding to help the widow and the orphan.  It would be so easy to make this verse into a seemingly great program of providing for the widow and the orphan.  However, there is so much more to this text. No matter how good intentioned we are, we cannot walk in a pure and undefiled religion without first seeking the only one that is pure and undefiled.  We must learn from the perfect and innocent man Christ Jesus.  Despite the abuse and the injustice done to him, he came through innocent, untainted, and the only one able to truly understand the complexities of Justice.   Jesus, the perfect man, stands as the only one who can bring true and lasting justice and restoration to these little ones.

It is in this context that we bring these families and their children before Jesus, asking Him to give revelation of the keys to restoration for each individual child.

Just as faith without works is dead, works without faith are also dead.  We gladly put our faith in Jesus and partner with him to do works of justice, as we speak up for the most vulnerable, the 163 million orphans worldwide.

About Orphan Justice Center

Sharon Karns is the Senior Director for The Orphan Justice Center which is a non-profit organization based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Orphan Justice Center (OJC) exists to restore orphaned, foster, and at-risk children in three distinct and strategic ways: Establishing safe and restorative communities for orphans, equipping and empowering families to adopt, and raising public awareness for at-risk children.