Foster Children

When my wife and I were foster parents our perspective was always from that of parents. At the time we were foster parens, our oldest daughter was ten and her perspective was of a sibling. I never thought much about what it was like to be a foster sibling until one day I tried to put my self in her shoes and think about what it's like to be a foster sibling.

After I thought about it for a few minutes, I realized I'm already a foster sibling. Every time I go to church I'm around my foster brothers and sisters. God has adopted all of us and we are foster children. What does that mean? It means that just like the foster children we had in our home we dirty and their clothes reeked of cigarette smoke when we first got them, the guy sitting next to me in church might stink spiritually and have some bad habits. As soon as the kids got in our home we always gave them a bath and clean clothes. So stinky dude in church needs to be washed in the blood of Jesus and clothed in His righteousness. He will still have some bad habits but we all do.

So just like the foster children we had were dirty, had been abused and mistreated, or just neglected, we loved them and helped them to get better and that's what we do with our spiritual brothers and sisters. We bear with one another and have patience with each other.

My oldest daughter was a very good foster sibling. She had a heart to serve and help the kids we had in our home. We must have the same approach with our brothers and sisters in God. No matter how wretched and smelly they are. We are all foster children.