I'm not her father.
We don't have the same skin color, the same language, or the same culture. We don't have the same address, upbringing, or address. She lives in a country that is all the way on the other side of the world.
Why would she call me "dad?"
I've only seen her once, and I don't even remember seeing her when I was there.
Yet, she called me "dad."
There are only four people in this world who have the right to call me dad. By birth, that is. My four children that my wife and I gave birth to have the right to call me dad. This little girl isn't one of them.
And yet I'm a complete mess. I'm bawling my eyes out.
See, in her eyes, I'm her father. In her eyes, my wife is her mother. That's because we are the closest things to parents she's ever had. We send her $25 a month, write a few letters, and pray for her. That hardly qualifies as a parent, don't you think? If any parents here in America did only that for their children, they would be locked up for neglect.
And yet, that's better than she's ever had it. She's an orphan. She lost her parents a while ago and now has nobody. So when a couple in America sends $25 -less money than they would spend on one meal for themselves- to her for an entire month's provisions, she adopts them as parents and calls them Mom and Dad.
Like I said before, I'm a complete mess. Why am I crying like this?
I didn't use to like children. I didn't grow up around kids. I was the typical guy that got very annoyed with crying children. I didn't want to hold them, didn't want to play with them, and I sure wasn't going to change any diapers or play horsey or anything like that. Whenever a baby was present, the girls all fawned over him or her, and I stayed away. Kids annoyed me to no end.
When I became a father, all of that changed. I truly love children. I love being called "Daddy." I love being the strong protector. I love watching them learn, grow, develop, and succeed. I love all that. But I am seriously asking myself why this orphan's words to me have affected me so deeply.
I believe it's because I once was an orphan too. All of us are, or were, at some point.
The Bible says that God adopts us as His own when we become followers of Him. We aren't just part of an impersonal crowd that hopes to get a glimpse of some rock-star celebrity. He truly becomes our Father. We are orphans without a dad, and He adopts us as His own.
That little girl in India didn't know me. She only knew that some people in America provided her with what she needed- food, clothing, shelter, and education. Before I was a Christian, I didn't know God. I just knew that He provided me with what I needed- forgiveness of my sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit within me to guide me.
She accepted me as her father. I accepted God as my Father.
She spoke to me, calling me Dad. I spoke to God, calling Him Dad.
My goodness, is this emotion I am feeling right now- is this the emotion God feels when one of us becomes a follower of His? Is this what God experiences when He adopts us as His children? Does God cry like I am right now, moved to the point of tears that there is another person calling Him "Dad?"
I can't see it any other way. Of course He does.
What an amazing God we serve.
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:18
We don't have the same skin color, the same language, or the same culture. We don't have the same address, upbringing, or address. She lives in a country that is all the way on the other side of the world.
Why would she call me "dad?"
I've only seen her once, and I don't even remember seeing her when I was there.
Yet, she called me "dad."
There are only four people in this world who have the right to call me dad. By birth, that is. My four children that my wife and I gave birth to have the right to call me dad. This little girl isn't one of them.
And yet I'm a complete mess. I'm bawling my eyes out.
See, in her eyes, I'm her father. In her eyes, my wife is her mother. That's because we are the closest things to parents she's ever had. We send her $25 a month, write a few letters, and pray for her. That hardly qualifies as a parent, don't you think? If any parents here in America did only that for their children, they would be locked up for neglect.
And yet, that's better than she's ever had it. She's an orphan. She lost her parents a while ago and now has nobody. So when a couple in America sends $25 -less money than they would spend on one meal for themselves- to her for an entire month's provisions, she adopts them as parents and calls them Mom and Dad.
Like I said before, I'm a complete mess. Why am I crying like this?
I didn't use to like children. I didn't grow up around kids. I was the typical guy that got very annoyed with crying children. I didn't want to hold them, didn't want to play with them, and I sure wasn't going to change any diapers or play horsey or anything like that. Whenever a baby was present, the girls all fawned over him or her, and I stayed away. Kids annoyed me to no end.
When I became a father, all of that changed. I truly love children. I love being called "Daddy." I love being the strong protector. I love watching them learn, grow, develop, and succeed. I love all that. But I am seriously asking myself why this orphan's words to me have affected me so deeply.
I believe it's because I once was an orphan too. All of us are, or were, at some point.
The Bible says that God adopts us as His own when we become followers of Him. We aren't just part of an impersonal crowd that hopes to get a glimpse of some rock-star celebrity. He truly becomes our Father. We are orphans without a dad, and He adopts us as His own.
That little girl in India didn't know me. She only knew that some people in America provided her with what she needed- food, clothing, shelter, and education. Before I was a Christian, I didn't know God. I just knew that He provided me with what I needed- forgiveness of my sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit within me to guide me.
She accepted me as her father. I accepted God as my Father.
She spoke to me, calling me Dad. I spoke to God, calling Him Dad.
My goodness, is this emotion I am feeling right now- is this the emotion God feels when one of us becomes a follower of His? Is this what God experiences when He adopts us as His children? Does God cry like I am right now, moved to the point of tears that there is another person calling Him "Dad?"
I can't see it any other way. Of course He does.
What an amazing God we serve.
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:18
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