What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.   James 1:27

A story given me…

While I was in foster care, in the home of a minister, my friends taunted me, saying that my mom would never return to get me. But they were wrong. She came for me after proving she could be a responsible adult by holding down a job and securing living quarters for her children.  As I was getting ready to leave his home, the minister spoke to my mom in private. I later found out that he had saved all the money he had received for my foster care. He gave it to my mom to help her get a fresh start. My foster dad was living out the truth of the scripture verse above.

But that verse from James goes much deeper in its meaning. An orphan is someone who has no living biological parents, but in a sense we are all spiritual orphans until we recognize God as our father. If we are to live “pure and genuine religion,” we must care for spiritual orphans by guiding them to relationship with our Father in heaven. My foster dad surely did, and my mom and I are living proof of the power of God to redeem broken lives through those who obey God’s word in scripture.

Thank you, Father, that you make provision through your people to care for the orphans and widows of the world. Amen.