My introduction to caring for children in foster care was not by choice. My family hosted 26 foster children while I was growing up. I can remember thinking at one point, Why do we have to do this? Why can’t someone else help?

As I matured, though, resentment eventually gave way to acceptance and love. I came to see my growing family as a blessing, not a burden.

When God created the first humans, He told them, “Be fruitful and increase in number” (Genesis 1:28). Adam and Eve produced offspring from whom the nations of the world were born. All were connected by a common ancestry.

However, family fractures soon emerged. Sin corrupted human relationships, bringing division, dysfunction, isolation and marginalization.

Yet God continued to reveal His love and compassion for all people. From the laws of the Old Testament to the teachings of Jesus and His followers in the New Testament, Scripture consistently calls for the care of the less fortunate in society. The Old Testament law established a series of commandments regarding care of the vulnerable, especially orphans, widows, immigrants and the poor.

The Bible frequently describes orphans as fatherless. Most patriarchal societies had little regard for fatherless children and sometimes even enslaved them. Widows were vulnerable to abuse and poverty. A foreigner without community connections or relationships might find it difficult to trade and eke out a living. And the poor were at risk of all kinds of mistreatment, including predatory lending.

God’s Word promotes conscious consideration, equitable trade, and sympathetic treatment of the vulnerable. God commanded the Israelites to collect a tithe from an entire year’s harvest every third year and give it to “the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow” (Deuteronomy 26:12). They were also forbidden from charging interest to poor members of their communities (Exodus 22:25).

God himself is a defender of vulnerable populations (Deuteronomy 10:17–19; Jeremiah 22:16). And He warned that those who mistreated them or ignored their plight were in danger of judgment (Exodus 22:22–24; Jeremiah 5:28–29). Our Heavenly Father promises to hear the cry of vulnerable people and move on their behalf.

In the New Testament, Jesus introduced dimensions of relationships that amazed His listeners. Rather than consider His followers mere servants, Jesus declared them His friends (John 15:14–15). Even more shocking, He also called them family: “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50).

The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross allows us to become a part of God’s family. Jesus established His kingdom with an understanding that as family, we should care as relatives would.

Jesus presented the concept of spiritual family repeatedly. He called the woman who was healed of a bleeding disorder “daughter” (Matthew 9:22). From the cross, Jesus asked John to care for His mother (John 19:26–27), even though John was not a relative. Jesus demonstrated that those who serve God are family and are to be shown compassionate care. This type of care begins in the house of God and extends beyond the borders of our faith.

Our adoption into God’s family reminds us to include those who are unlike us in our scope of compassionate service.

The Lord instructed His followers to fulfill the Law and the teaching of the prophets by loving God with all their heart, mind, and soul and loving their neighbor as themselves (Mark 12:30–31).

Jesus illustrated the principle of neighborly love in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37). The Jewish people were accustomed to serving their own in accordance with the Law, but Jesus expanded their responsibility with this parable. He described a situation where religious leaders failed to help a person who had experienced injustice.

Jesus taught that loving our neighbor should cause us to reach beyond all borders of race, sex, religion, culture and congregation. Our compassion must extend to those outside of our church community.

The apostle Paul shared his understanding of God’s universal acceptance of humanity in his letter to the Romans. He used the principle of adoption to describe salvation. God values and includes all of humanity in His plan of redemption, saving all who come to Him in faith and transforming us to become His children. Our adoption into God’s family reminds us to include those who are unlike us in our scope of compassionate service. We must reach beyond ourselves to the world God so loves.

God’s desire for compassion is undeniable. Jesus’ clear mandate regarding care for the vulnerable should motivate us to serve the needs of children within the foster care system.

In the Old Testament, God’s Law for Israel required justice and compassion. In the New Testament, Jesus’ depiction of compassion through parables leads us to care for those outside of our faith and church walls. The apostles’ teaching regarding salvation through the metaphor of adoption reveals God’s desire for His people to accept those foreign to, or outside of, our culture.

Caring for others was among the activities that immediately followed the Upper Room encounter with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The believers were devoted to the apostles’ teachings and to fellowship. They ate together, prayed together, and even sold their property and possessions to provide for those who were in need (Acts 2:42–47).

Acts 4:33–35 says, “God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales, and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.” Is that true of us? Are our congregations so generous that there are none in our midst who are in need?

The needs of the vulnerable go far beyond financial concerns. They are in need of fellowship and families. Scripture directs us to consider the need and respond. God wants us to view them as a part of our family.

James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

The word translated religion comes from the Greek threskos. This rarely used term is best described as a religious ceremony — a public demonstration of an inner conviction. A theological reflection upon the scriptural mandate to extend robust, generous and compassionate care to all corners of the community compels us to act. We must creatively and enthusiastically obey God’s command to serve and care for the most vulnerable in our society.

Other Articles in This Series

• “If God and the Church Don’t Help” by Rick Dubose
• “The American Foster Care Crisis” by Eric Porter
• “Misconceptions About Foster Parenting” by Sharen E. Ford
• “What Local Churches Can Do” by Jay Mooney and Johan Mostert

This article appears in the Winter 2022 edition of Influence magazine.