Bearing the Image of the 'Father to the fatherless'

It has been so incredible to see how God, (through my relationships with friends who have adopted as well as stories and books that I have read), has created in me such a tender heart for orphans over the last couple of years.  It's been my ever-growing understanding of who I used to be before Christ (a hopeless, wrecked, sin-mired enemy of the Most High) who I am now in Christ (a free, holy, redeemed, spotless son of God), coupled with the regenerative work of Holy Spirit in my life that has not only brought me to a place of utter humility at the work and power of His grace, but also a place of unbridled compassion for the fatherless.    

I would argue that is virtually impossible (unless you're not in Christ) to read and grasp Scripture and not have a heart for adoption.  The very nature of the Gospel screams it at us.  As a result of the Fall, we are cursed as orphans.  We are fatherless, having no inheritance and are in fact slaves to ourselves and to sin (Rom. 1-3; Gal. 4:8;  Eph. 2) .  But God, (such a beautiful 'but'), in His grace and mercy adopts us into sonship.  We become heirs into the inheritance promised to our fathers (Abraham- Gal 3:29) and are altogether "brothers"(Rom 8:12; Heb 2:17) as God's chosen people.  Jesus even calls us 'brothers'(Heb 2:11)!  "The Spirit himself' Paul tells the Romans, "bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom 8:16).  We even share the same Spirit with Jesus and cry out with him to the same Father! (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6) And since we are united in the Spirit of Jesus, we share a common family with all those who also have this Spirit ("one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all" Eph. 4:5-6).   That's adoption! We are part of a brand new family, a new identity, a new story. Oh yeah and it's all undeserved.  What!?

When I understood this, I mean really understood it (through the Spirit, I didn't muster this up through my own intelligence) I found myself wanting to go after the orphans and give them a home.  It's what God has done for me, and I can't but bear the image of my Father.