e Gospel in Foster Care

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The Gospel is our “WHY”

e work of Jesus on our behalf compels us in turn to work on behalf of others. Why would we step into the hard? Lean into the broken? Open up our families to be vulnerable to the traumatic and di cult? Because that’s what Jesus has done for us. We lay down our lives for others because He rst laid down His for us—perfectly, sacri cially, and su ciently.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. . . . Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

1 John 3:16,18

Christ saw our brokenness and embraced us in our weakness, adopted us into His family, and changed the course of our lives forever. is beautiful picture of the gospel, and its vivid implications for our care of the most vulnerable, plays itself out through two primary aspects of theology:

• e Doctrine of Our Adoption • e Doctrine of His Incarnation

ese two pillar doctrines form the strong and sturdy foundation of our “why.”

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THE DOCTRINE OF OUR ADOPTION

One of the prominent images running throughout Scripture, depicting the character of God and His work on our behalf, is the picture of family. Speci cally, the illustration is rooted in the relationship between God as our Father and ourselves as His dearly loved children.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

1 John 3:1

e hinge upon which this new relationship with God depends is beautifully illustrated in Scripture through the New Testament repetition of the word “adoption.” Consider the following passages:

He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.

Ephesians 1:5

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

Romans 8:15

We were once outside the family of God, but now, through the work of Christ on our behalf, we have been adopted as dearly loved sons and daughters. We experience the rights and privileges of being known and loved as His very own!

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A new identity is born from a new way of relating to God—as our Father—and of His relating to us—as His children. If our adoption into God’s family is at the core of the gospel, then the gospel is certainly at the core of our calling to care for vulnerable kids in our world who need loving, safe, and permanent families to call their own.

WE CARE FOR THE VULNERABLE BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN GREATLY CARED FOR BY JESUS.

e theology of our adoption helps form the basis

of our “why.” Why would we care for vulnerable children by welcoming them into our families? Because that’s what Christ has done for us.

THE DOCTRINE OF HIS INCARNATION

e word incarnation literally means “assuming human form.” e doctrine of Christ’s incarnation speaks of God stepping into humanity, wrapping Himself in esh, and living completely and fully as both God and man. is wonder is most notably recognized at Christmas with the birth of Jesus, yet its implications are far more pervasive.

All this took place to ful ll what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Matthew 1:22–23

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e incarnation reveals much about who God is and what God does. It tells us that He is the kind of God who sees broken and hard things and doesn’t step away from them, but steps into them. He is Immanuel, God “with us.” He wrapped Himself up in our brokenness, carried our brokenness to the cross, and was broken by our brokenness so that we don’t have to be broken anymore. God saw us in our plight and moved toward us, not away from us. In essence He says, “I see you where you are and I’m coming a er you!” at’s the gospel. e apostle Paul reiterates the story of the incarnation of Christ and beautifully ties it in to God’s redemptive pursuit of humanity to make us His children, writing,

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4–5

Jesus was “born of woman” (incarnated) in order “that we might receive adoption” into His family.

If the incarnation of Jesus is at the core of the gospel, our stepping toward the hard and broken is certainly at the core of our calling to care for vulnerable kids.

e theology of Christ’s incarnation helps form the

basis of our “why.” Why would we immerse—in a sense

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incarnate—ourselves into these hard and broken places? Because that’s what Christ has done for us.

e implications of the doctrine of the incarnation

are broad. e opportunities for each unique individual to “incarnate” themselves into hard and broken places are endless and in nitely creative. is moves the conversation beyond the parameters of foster care, adoption, or orphan care in some other capacity—although each of these provides a ready outlet through which Christians can respond (perhaps that’s why James 1:27 describes leaning into the lives of the vulnerable as one of the purest and most unde led re ections of the gospel). Incarnation, however, goes further, speaking to a renewed posture and perspective toward the world around us in all matters of justice, mercy, and sacri ce. One where we see hard places and broken people and say, “I see you where you are and I’m coming a er you.”

THE BEGINNING, MIDDLE, AND END

At the core of our motivation to care for the vulnerable is the heart of God demonstrated through the gospel on our behalf. It’s the gospel—the story of Christ stepping into our brokenness (incarnation) and drawing us into the security and assurance of His provision and protection (adoption)— that acts as the guide not only to why but also to how we must care for the vulnerable.

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THREE THINGS THE GOSPEL DOES: 1. It compels us into it.

e work of Jesus on our behalf becomes the primary motivation for us to work on others’ behalf: He said to us,

“I see you where you are and I’m coming a er you!” We echo that same sentiment into the lives of those around us. e gospel changes the questions we ask, from “Why would we do hard things for others?” to “In light of what

Jesus did for us, why would we NOT do hard things?”

2. It sustains us in the midst of it.

When the work of foster care gets especially di cult— when we’re le asking “Why are we doing this?”—the gospel reminds us that the work is worth it; it infuses meaning into the struggle and context into the di culty.

3. It manifests itself through it.

Caring for the vulnerable is one of the purest and most unde led demonstrations of the gospel the world will ever see (James 1:27). e echoes of the gospel in foster care are beautiful and vivid.

e gospel compels us into foster care, sustains us when the journey gets di cult, and is precisely what we want put on display through it; our response to Christ’s “good news” serves as an irrefutable demonstration of the willingness of Jesus to step toward hard places and broken people and points to His capacity to bring great beauty out of it all.

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The gospel is our most compelling “WHY.”

e gospel compelling us into foster care doesn’t guarantee that everything will be easy, but it does give meaning to the struggles and an assurance that while ours is anything but a simple journey, it is a worthy one. It provides hope in the midst of uncertainties and perspective within the seemingly incomprehensible confusion, frustration, and exhaustion that will come our way. e gospel is nothing if not the capacity of Jesus to bring breathtaking beauty out of tragic brokenness. is is the gospel in foster care, and it’s what we have in mind when we use the word “gospel” throughout the pages of this book. It’s central to everything we believe is necessary for us to “do” foster care well.

You may not have stepped into foster care with an explicit motivation to serve Jesus, . . . or perhaps that’s been your impetus all along. You may not have gotten involved in order to lay down your life for kids the way Jesus did for you, . . . or perhaps that has been your posture from the very beginning. You may not have determined to put the gospel on display as your end goal, . . . or perhaps that has always been your hope. Wherever you’re coming from and whatever it is that brought you to where you are now, the truth for you is this: here you are. It doesn’t matter what brought you into it—you’re in it now, and it’s important that you be connected with others, supported, encouraged, and cared for. at’s the heart of this book.

CHAPTER 1