Are you a macho man? A champion?

If you are a man, or if you have a man in your life, I highly recommend reading this article titled The Manliness of Adoption: Testosterone and Pure Religion.

The whole thing is golden, but here is one of my more favorite parts:

Let me tell you what's tragic. It is tragic that so many men pass off adoption as a woman's issue. After all, if you go to an adoption conference you may find the room is often filled not with men, but with women. As one husband once said to me, "Women care more about adoption because it's just their nurturing instinct." True enough, women are called to nurture. But men are called to protect, provide, and rescue. I wanted to look at him and say, "Nurturing instinct? Where is your rescuing instinct?"

Those orphans need a champion. They need courage. They need self-sacrifice. Men, if you have been
rescued by our saving God, I want you to ask yourselves: Where is your rescuing instinct? Men, you are called to lead. If there was a burning building and we knew there were children inside and a husband was with his wife walking by and his wife said, "I think we should do something." And the husband said, "Oh, that's just your nurturing instinct. Come on." And he just allowed the children to be burned up in there. Nobody says, "Yeah that makes sense." No! They ask, "Why weren't you a champion man? Didn't you understand what was at stake? Why didn't you charge in there? Why weren't you willing to sacrifice yourself? They needed to be rescued. They did not have any hope." Well, there are burning
buildings all over the world. And there are children all over the world in need of rescue. There are orphans in need of fathers.

I want you to hear the way the Bible positions this issue of rescuing the fatherless. Psalm 68:1-5 describes God as a divine warrior, the One who came to rescue and deliver His people. Notice, this is not nurturing imagery, this is the imagery of boldness, courage, and warfare. The issue is spiritual warfare. Notice what it says about God. "God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him! As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God! But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him! Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation."

Men, that is the vision He places before us to reflect him to the world as Father to the fatherless. As we are being conformed into the image of Christ, we will reflect more and more our Father God in the world. And in so doing, we will be all the more burdened for rescuing the orphans of the world. No matter the cost. Men, will you lead? Men, will you be men of courage? Men, will you take dominion? Men, will you be not only men, but fathers to the fatherless?

Psalm 68 goes on to say that God sets the lonely in families. I'm imagining God as a jeweler, setting a precious stone into a work of art. My children are precious jewels and our family is a work of art. The psalm speaks of the prisoners being released and rejoicing. Alec and Zhenya are prisoners. They will be incarcerated for life if they are not redeemed very soon.

I feel very blessed to be married to a champion with a strong rescuing instinct. I'm so honored to be running errands for our Lord and rescuing these two precious jewels.