James, the brother of Jesus Christ, defines the fruit of true religion: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27).

Jan. 19 is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Following are three resources that shed new light on what it means to honor the sanctity of all life.

Show Hope: Orphans, Adoption, and the Heart of God
Singer and songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, share their unusual journey to and through adoption in this interview with Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, at the 2019 Evangelicals for Life Conference 2019. Eventually, the Chapmans adopted three daughters and founded “Show Hope,” an organization that works “to restore hope by breaking down barriers that exist between waiting children and loving families.”

Throughout Scripture, God demonstrates that He has a particular love for orphans.

Softening the church’s heart toward orphans
“We have to think beyond adoption,” says Tony Merida, pastor of preaching and vision at Imago Dei Church in Raleigh and author of the book Orphanology. In this video, Merida, who has adopted five children with his wife, Kimberly, describes how there is more the church can do to fulfill its biblical charge to care for “the least of these.”

The Cooks’ story of foster care
“We received a call in January about a seven-month-old baby girl. It was an emergency placement.” That was the beginning of the foster family journey between the Cook family and Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina (BCH), which they briefly share in this video. BCH provides training and support for couples to become licensed foster families, as well as training for churches to begin their own foster care communities.

Throughout Scripture, God demonstrates that He has a particular love for orphans. Psalm 68:5 tells us, “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation.” Perhaps, God has placed a desire in your heart to fill the extra space at your table through adoption or foster care.