Rachel's Story

It was a sunny day as I was driving along. I was on my way back to work.

I was driving my husband's car, which was tuned to a Christian College radio station.

This post is about an advertisement that came on. When I got back to work, I sent an e-mail to the radio station asking if there was a way I could link to that commercial, or if they could send more information about their organization. I did not get a reply from the radio station, so I can't link to the sound byte, nor can I paste in their transcript.

"The story is about a girl named Rachel. She had been living on the streets in the Philippines. She had experimented with drugs and at times turned to prostitution. By age 21 she had three children. Two of the children she sold. The third child was kidnapped one night when they were sleeping under a bridge.

Homeless and destitute Rachel found herself pregnant again.

Someone told Rachel about this organization that maybe could help her. She turned to this wonderful Christian group. [Most unfortunately I cannot remember the name - but it doesn't really matter, because it represents the mindset of so MANY Christian Organizations that 'help' pregnant women.]

This group took Rachel in. They arranged the adoption of her child to a loving Christian couple. They provided Rachel with the basic needs and began to train her with useable life skills. They helped Rachel get a job. She thrived and continued working and supported herself. She can now read the Bible and is a manager over a few people at her place of employment."

Isn't that a wonderful "success story?"

Yay for this wonderful group of Christians who showed the love of Jesus!

Really?

Did they show the love of Jesus?

Was it a wonderful story?

Well, I’d like to tell you another story. Then you pick the one that you think is the better “Success Story.”

Story B ...

"The story is about a girl named Rachel. She had been living on the streets in the Philippines. She had experimented with drugs and at times turned to prostitution. By age 21 she had three children. Two of the children she sold. The third child was kidnapped one night when they were sleeping under a bridge.

Homeless and destitute Rachel found herself pregnant again.

Someone told Rachel about this organization that maybe could help her. She turned to this wonderful Christian group.

This group took Rachel in. The provided her with the basic needs of food and clothes. They arranged appointments at the doctor throughout her pregnancy. They recognized the trauma Rachel must be living with to have lost three of her children, and provided counseling to her.

This organization had requests from Christian American couples to adopt Rachel's 4th child. But this wonderful Christian group replied to those requests in an unexpected manner. They would not even consider adoption for this child. Their reason was that for them to arrange an adoption would not help Rachel. To sell her 4th child legally via adoption was no different than Rachel being forced to sell her other children out of desperation. Adoption would only further traumatize Rachel.

This wonderful Christian group cared for Rachel throughout her pregnancy. They taught her how to read and trained her with other life skills. They helped her get a job.

Rachel gave birth to a beautiful little girl. Her little girl is now in elementary school, and Rachel is a manager over a few other workers at her place of employment.

If you'd ask Rachel about her story she would tell you how thankful she is to find these people who loved her and helped her through the darkest times of her life. This group of people was different than everyone else she had ever known. These people seemed to LOVE her and care about her, unconditionally. She would tell you that her greatest accomplishment is when she sits down at night with her little girl in her lap, as she reads the Bible to her."

So,

Which really showed Compassion?

Mercy?

LOVE without expecting anything in return?

Story A

or

Story B

God has created a very sacred mother-child bond. Why do Christians treat that so lightly?

Instead of allowing the adoption industry to sell their babies as mere cattle, why aren't we doing more to help Expectant Mothers to become the Mothers that God intended them to be?

Rachel's story

I'd rather hear more like Story B

Godliness

March 1, 2009 - Pastor Don

Sermon title: Godliness

Here is a link to the .mp3 file for you to want to listen to the entire sermon, Godliness download -- or at the very least listen to the opening story. It has to do with the owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks making an offer to WGN Radio Sports Talk Host, D. Maverick.

"My Name is My Birthright"

7 Marks of a Christian:

1.) CONDUCT - 1 Jn2:6

2.) CONCERN - Col 3:1-4; Mt 6:31-33; Phil 4:9

Concern loops back around to conduct

What are my concerns?

3.) COMPASSION - I Jn 3:17 "How can the love of God be in you?"

Compassion costs personally & is outside my wants or needs

4.) CONVERSATION - Mat 12:34 "empty words"

- James 26 "religion worthless"

What and How we speak about something important to us. - was it uplifting? - encouraging? -would we speak it if Jesus were visibly present?

5.) COMFORT - I Thess 4:13; 2 Cor 1:3-4

We receive comfort from God so that we can pass it on / comfort others

6.) CONFIDENCE - Heb 11:6; Gal 3:11

7.) COMMUNION with God / BUILDING Relationship with God - I Jn 1:3

to Know God is very very different than to merely know About God

Following are my notes relating to the sermon and/or sermon points:

The opening story has the comment,

"My Name is My Birthright."

This has a completely different meaning to people who are not adopted. People who are adopted, they lose much that should have been "their birthright", even the 'birthright' of their original name. 5.) COMFORT. The verse in I Thess states that we receive comfort from God so that we can turn around and comfort others when they need it. For some people this is a strength God has already wired them with (similar to compassion). But other people may need to learn how to comfort others.

2.) CONCERN. I had to stop and ask myself... what are my concerns with all the time I spend on-line?

One of my concerns is 'being heard'.

Another concern is for others. I want to encourage others who are struggling or who maybe are/were in a similar situation. I want to support people and help them through the dark times.

I think my biggest concern on-line is change ... Change is so desperately needed! 3.) COMPASSION. I listed this trait last because I think it is a critical trait that is lacking in adoption. In my sermon notes journal I have !*!* next to this trait. Jesus was a powerful man. He healed many people and performed many miracles. Yet he was very much a man of compassion. We see it over and over that when he saw people in need, the story went like this "Jesus saw... and He was moved with compassion" or "He was filled with compassion" or simply "He had compassion on..." Where is the compassion when it comes to adoption? The verse in I John 3 is very strong "How Can the Love of God be in you?' I think that could easily be read 'How can the Love of God possibly be in you? You're interested in only your own self and while you give lip service to the hurting, you are unmoved by their deepest needs ???!!!" So, where IS the compassion when it comes to adoption? What Pastor Don said in his sermon needs repeated ...

"Compassion Costs Personally".

When he said that, the story that came to my mind immediately is one from an AMom. I originally read this article --> http://www.cafemom.com/journals/read/1317242/article_Black_Kids_in_White_Houses I'm copying most of one paragraph from that article... Pam and her husband, Bill, both white, adopted two black children, Theo and Simone, whose mother, Amanda, . . . had to give them up because she's poor and has been dealing with illness in her immediate family. The . . .cost almost $20,000 each. ". . . There's nothing wrong with her [Amanda]. . . I've thought before, what if I'd just given that money to her?" Yes, Pam, what if you HAD just given that $40,000 to their momma? Or even half that? You would be a hero forever. To me, that would've been the kind of Compassion Jesus talked about. I think that is the kind of Compassion Pastor Don was talking about when he said that Compassion Costs Personally. It seems that Christians have stopped giving without expecting something in return. Could it be that we're lacking Compassion. So, where is the Compassion in Adoption? I often think about the baby girls adopted from China. How many of those girls and young women are now in America. They've lost their natural family, their heritage, their culture. Their chance of ever finding the answers to life's most basic questions (such as 'who do I look like?') will go unanswered. How many have been adopted? What if American Christian women stopped paying the Chinese government to force mothers to abandon their daughters? Instead of encouraging the practice to go on, What if, instead American Christian women would've put that money together over the years and fought against the real human rights issue in China? Now that -- that to me sounds like Compassion. That sounds like Compassion which would Cost Personally. So, tell me, where is the Compassion in Adoption. It isn't there, my friends. Plain and simple. When you peel away the layers, the deep and real motive with adoption is to fill a want by AParents. Compassion would look into the eyes of a child and want to fight to keep that child with his/her natural parents - not take the child away. Give without expecting to receive in return. Godliness is displayed by Compassion. Compassion Costs Personally, it gives without expecting to receive anything in return.