Welcoming for life

Looking at God's creation, it is possible to see that God created human relationships in such a way that the family is the healthy place where a child should be in order to be nurtured and educated, so that it can grow and develop as a human being. The human family is not something random, but a reflection of what is the image and likeness of God himself. All the references in the Bible that illustrate God as Father and Jesus as Son are evidence that God created humanity to mirror his person.

As a reflection of this reality, it is possible to see motherhood and fatherhood as one of the most beautiful ways of seeing the image and likeness of God. However, being father and mother to those who are flesh of his flesh is not exactly what God has done for humanity. God became Father to those who are not like him, just as Jesus was, but adopted them so that they would become like his true Son (Romans 8.29).

A principle in biblical writings, whether in the Old or New Testaments, is that God includes in his family people who were previously orphaned, abandoned, lonely and even at enmity with him. A clear example of God identifying with orphans and widows is in Psalm 68:5-6, which says that God is the Father who puts the lonely into his family. It is worth reflecting that to be saved is to be adopted by God and to enter into the ultimate and intimate relationship that exists within the Trinity itself.

The orphan suffers many injustices because he is outside the family context, but God himself "does justice to the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him clothing and food" (Deuteronomy 10.18). That's why he instructs us: "Learn to do good! Seek justice, put an end to oppression. Fight for the rights of the orphan, defend the cause of the widow" (Isaiah 1.17).

Living in a family is God's plan and therefore the right of every child and adolescent on this earth. However, millions of children grow up without the benefit of permanent relationships with loving and caring adults. Their families have been torn apart by poverty, illness, death, war, marginalization, violence, abuse and neglect.

Christians who are committed to the Kingdom of God, who are consistent with the gospel, who ardently desire to be relevant in this generation, have the privilege and opportunity to be the embodiment of God's love in transforming tragic stories into love stories through foster care, adoption, volunteering, support, giving and other interventions.