"I desire mercy, not sacrifice": Have we gotten church wrong?

"I desire mercy, not sacrifice," God spoke through the prophet Hosea as He pointed out the grievous sins that Israel and Judah had committed (Hosea 6:6).

"I desire mercy, not sacrifice," said Jesus when the Pharisees questioned Jesus' disciples as to why their Teacher was eating with tax collectors and "sinners" (Matthew 9:9-13).

"I desire mercy, not sacrifice," said Jesus again when the Pharisees rebuked Jesus and His disciples for picking some heads of grain and eating them on the Sabbath. Jesus then headed to the synagogue and healed a man with a shrivelled hand (Matthew 12:1-14).

Having been raised in a Christian home, and having attended church ever since I was born, "being Christian" has essentially meant attending church every Sunday, reading my Bible and praying every day, attending cell groups and Bible studies and living a good personal life. That was what I was taught about how to be a "good Christian".

On the other hand, failing to attend church and missing Bible studies were a big no-no; these were only pardonable if I had some legitimate reason.

But what does the Lord truly desire of us?

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus illustrated the meaning of "mercy" by telling of the priest and the Levite who walked on without caring for the injured man, while on the other hand, the Samaritan went the extra mile to show concern for him and ensure that he was being cared for.
 

In the parable, Jesus seemed to care very little about the fact that the priest and the Levite were "religious" people, who were probably on their way to or from their religious duties. Instead, the hero of the story was a despised Samaritan who his neighbour and showed mercy.

Have we gotten church wrong? Where do our priorities lie?

Surely, salvation is by grace through faith alone (Romans 3:23-24), but likewise we are called to work out our salvation "with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12) and to express our faith in love (Galatians 5:6).

In our weekly Sunday rituals, have we forgotten the poor, sick, homeless, orphans, widows, aliens, unborn, or disabled? Have we forgotten those who are sexually broken and crying out for love and affection yet finding these in all the wrong places?

Will we be the people to whom the Lord will say "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me" (Matthew 25:35-36)? 

Or will the Lord say to us, "depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41)?

Adoption and the Gospel

Ryan Bomberger writes, "Adoption is at the heart of our soul's redemption".

Adoption is an issue so central to the Christian faith that it is shocking how little mention is made of it in regular Christian life.

Various letters to TODAY have discussed the issue recently. Joseph Wong writes in "To help orphans, change our views on adoption" (27 December 2013):

Adopting a child is as much giving life as giving birth and should be celebrated.

Perhaps if society views adoption and adopted children more positively, many more of the millions of orphans in the world might have a family and a new life.

Shafiq Abdullah reiterates this point in "Adoption: Point is to care for orphans, neglected kids" (30 December 2013):

Although many people I know see adoption as a “solution” for couples who cannot have children, I think they miss the more important point of it: Caring for orphans and neglected children.

Adoption is a way for a child to find a stable home where he is loved and protected by adoptive parents.

A progressive society should put the needs of children first. If our society views adoption and adopted children more positively, we could indeed find homes for many orphans and neglected children.

Likewise, Darius Lee writes in "Streamline adoption process, form support groups for families" (31 December 2013):

I agree with Mr Joseph Wong (“To help orphans, change our views on adoption”, Dec 27) and Mr Shafiq Abdullah (“Adoption: Point is to care for orphans, neglected kids”, Dec 30) that we should change our perspective of adoption in order to help orphans and neglected children find homes where they can be loved and protected.

The needs of children should come first. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Singapore is a party, stipulates that the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration under a system of adoption.

According to statistics provided in March by Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing in Parliament, the average number of child adoptions in Singapore over the last five years has been about 400. It takes about five months to process each adoption case.

As a society, we should not only work to streamline our system of adoption, but also encourage adoption by raising awareness of its life-giving potential. The community can form support groups for adoptive families to empower parents in sensitive matters such as disclosure. Likewise, the Government should consider measures to provide information about adoption, while respecting confidentiality.

Thus, we can unleash the life-giving value of adoption, in the best interests of our children. As the minister said, every one child matched with a proper family is one more happy Singaporean.

New family and new life

The Gospel message is about our adoption into God's family through the life-giving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 

The Book of Genesis begins with the story of how Adam, whom Luke refers to as "the son of God" (Luke 3:37), was cut off from God because of his sin in the Garden of Eden. Death entered the world through Adam's sin. Paul explains that "through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners" (Romans 5:19). 

 

All at once, Man had lost his family and life because of sin.

Yet through faith in Jesus Christ, we have all received God's grace and are adopted into God's family. Paul teaches us that we "are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26). God has made us His children and heirs:

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:15-17)

We have been given a new family and a new life.

Caring for orphans

Another reason why adoption is so central to the Christian faith is the importance of caring for orphans.

 

The Bible describes God as a "father to the fatherless" (Psalm 68:5). He "defends the cause of the fatherless" (Deuteronomy 10:18).

 

All throughout the Old Testament are injunctions to protect the rights of the fatherless. For example, the prophet Isaiah exhorted the people of Judah to "defend the cause of the fatherless", and rebuked the rulers for failing to protect their rights (Isaiah 1:17, 23).

 

Likewise, James writes in the New Testament:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

The Bible is clear about the importance of caring for orphans. God cares for them, and we as His children should do likewise.

 

Should we not do likewise?

Adoption is central to the Gospel message. Through Jesus Christ, we receive God's grace and mercy and become His children when we were once cut off by sin and death. We have been given a new family and a new life. 

 

Moreover, we reflect the love of God Himself when we care for orphans and neglected children and protect their rights. 

 

Having received God's love and having been adopted into His family, should we not also open our homes to the orphans and neglected children in our midst?