God's Heart For The Orphan By Dr Robert GloverSample

Day 3

The Church And The Orphan

The church is the family of God – words used in the Bible include ‘the body’, ‘the bride’, ‘children’, ‘father’ and most frequently ‘the family’. The usage is not accidental; the family is the most intimate of human relationships in which love, closeness, attachment, loyalty, security and respect are all evident. This mirrors the relationship between God and his family, made possible by Jesus’ incarnation and death. The local church then is to be a close-knit family of brothers and sisters.

God calls the church to exhibit the characteristics of a family, a safe secure place in which we can be vulnerable with our weaknesses, able to forgive those who hurt us, able to trust and be trusted, love beyond all faults, be loyal through tough times, encourage and restore the broken, and take care of the orphan and widow.

A father sacrifices himself for the good of his family. Being part of a family is not your choice and is permanent. Relationships in a family are based on sacrificial love. 

As we display these attributes the church’s responsibility is to be a champion for the orphan. We were all orphans once and He brought us into His family. Therefore, as we care for the orphan we are imitating His passionate love for the fatherless.

The Bible tells us that we have the mind of Christ. When united with Jesus through the Spirit, we think, feel, hurt and act along with Him. Throughout the Bible Jesus is burdened by the plight of the fatherless, why not spend some time today in prayer for the fatherless?