¹⁸ “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

I heard a story recently about a professor from seminary and his wife who had adopted two boys from Russia.  He explained that when they went over for the first time to the orphanage, the place was in terrible shape.  He said the facilities were barely livable; it smelled terrible and was extremely dirty.  He said that the most eerie thing about the orphanage was how quiet it was.  He said that though the babies were awake, none of them were crying because they had been so severely neglected. 

He said that when they went and chose the two baby boys they were going to adopt, the policy stated that before taking the children home, they had to first return home to fill out paper work and wait for a time before they could return to Russia to get their sons.  This professor said leaving those boys under those conditions was one of the hardest things he ever had to do.  He said the experience gave him a whole new appreciation for John 14:18.  In fact, he quoted this passage to his sons before leaving.  He whispered to them, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” 

We all feel like abandon orphans at times.  There are times when God seems distant, and we feel as if he has left us all alone in this fallen world to deal with matters on our own.  God, however, tells us in his word that Jesus has not left us as orphans.  Instead, he has come to us.  Jesus made that promise to His disciples in John 14, and after his resurrection and before his ascension, He promised them once again that he would be with them until the end and that promise extends to believers today.

Believers, we are not orphans.  If you are trusting in Christ for your salvation, you have been adopted into the family of God.  Christ is now your life as Paul says in Colossians 3:4.  You have him with you every step of the way through good times and bad, through the pain and the joy—through the troubles and eases of this life. 

For more from John 14, click HERE and listen to, “KNOWING JESUS AS THE GREAT COMFORTER.”