“Like the Lord, defend the cause of the fatherless and the widow.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – August 29, 2025
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
My wife Rita serves on a ministry board called Saving Susan, which cares for orphans in Cambodia and Guatemala. Rita, our two granddaughters, and I just returned from a week of volunteering at Casa Bernarbe, a Guatemalan orphanage. The house parents were the real heroes as they cared for their own biological children along with 10-12 other children who were not their own. When we asked the house parents to share joyful memories from their own childhoods, something wonderful happened. We saw that God has chosen these adults to become part of the childhood stories the children in their care will someday tell. These couples spoke about feeling truly called by the Lord to serve by loving and living alongside both the children in their homes and their own biological kids. James describes this as pure religion—and faultless.
Picture James, weathered hands gripping his stylus, writing to scattered believers who’ve lost everything. “You want to know what real religion looks like?” he asks, cutting through religious pretense with surgical precision. “Forget your elaborate ceremonies and polished prayers. True faith has dirty fingernails—it’s found kneeling beside society’s forgotten ones.” He’s thinking of widows counting coins for tomorrow’s bread, orphans sleeping in doorways, the invisible people stepping around religious folks rushing to the temple. James knew his audience craved authentic faith in a performance-driven world. So he painted them a picture: pure religion isn’t just found in sanctuaries, but in the streets, not stopping with sermons, but in application. “Keep yourself unstained,” he adds—not isolation from the world, but insulation from its corrupting values. It’s the delicate dance of engagement without compromise, compassion without contamination.
What orphan and widow’s ministries serve in your area or overseas? How might you pray and partner with them? What is the Lord’s heart for widows and orphans? Look around your community—foster care agencies desperately need volunteers, senior centers welcome visitors, and widows’ ministries like Never Alone connect you to women in need. God’s heart beats fiercely for society’s most vulnerable. Throughout Scripture, He calls Himself “defender of widows” and “father to the fatherless.” Their tears are His tears. Start by praying: ask God to reveal specific ministries nearby. Maybe it’s mentoring a foster child, delivering meals to elderly neighbors, or sponsoring an orphan abroad. The Lord doesn’t want your pity—He wants your presence. His heart breaks for those without advocates, protectors, or providers. When we step into that gap, we’re not just serving people; we’re reflecting God’s own protective, nurturing character to a watching world. Like the Lord, defend the cause of the fatherless and the widow.
Yes, many of these children’s stories began with abandonment and heartbreak, but that’s not where their stories end. Saving Susan’s ministry has become a new chapter in each of their lives. Being able to pray over these humble house parents was an incredible privilege, as we felt God’s presence so powerfully in that place – it was truly an honor. Pure religion engages in love!
“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18).
Prayer
Lord, give me Your heart for the hurting. Teach me to love and serve orphans and widows with compassion, humility, and joy—reflecting Your care in every word and deed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Application
Where is the Spirit leading you to love and serve vulnerable children and women?
Related Reading
Exodus 22:22-24; Isaiah 1:17; Zechariah 7:10; Job 29:12
Worship Resource
The Crosby Family: Goodness of God
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