Not everyone should adopt, but more should than do. I could list numerous reasons to consider adoption, but here are my top 4:

1. 153,000,000 orphans worldwide.

We should not think the orphan crisis is not just an issue for the rest of the world. In the U.S., 400,000 children are living in foster care and 130,000 of them are waiting to be adopted.

Numbers that big are hard to grasp and thus easy to ignore. David Platt: “We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes …”

2. God’s heart for the orphan.

Responding to the orphan crisis is a biblical mandate and a reflection of God’s heart.

“The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked” (Ps. 146:9, NLT).

“Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute” (Ps. 82:3, NLT).

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:27, NLT).

3. God’s adoption of us.

The greatest motivation for adoption is to understand that we are adopted by God. “It’s not about us rescuing orphans,” said Francis Chan, “it’s Jesus rescued us.” God’s adoption of us was never His Plan B, it was never a back-up solution. God’s adoption of us was always His Plan A (Eph. 1:4-5). Our consideration of adoption, then, shouldn’t only be about infertility; it’s about responding to the mercy God has shown us. 

4. You can make a difference in the life of a child.

Adoption is not the only answer to the orphan crisis because not all of the orphaned children in the world are not available for adoption. We have to think about other ways to care for orphans. And while every Christian will not adopt, every one of us is called to care for orphans and vulnerable children.

Will you consider adoption or fostering? If you can’t, then what will you do to make a difference in the life of an orphan or at-risk child?