ArcaMax

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: My wife and I are praying to adopt a child in another country. We have the means to provide him or her with all the things the world can offer: education, travel and religion. While the home and family are under attack today, we want to raise a child in a way to make them successful in life. As we go through the tedious interview process to be approved, how else can we assure the review board that we will be capable providers, and does the Bible speak to this in any way? – A.P.

A: A young couple visited an orphanage where they hoped to adopt a child. In an interview with the boy, they told him in glowing terms about the many things they could give him. To their amazement, the little fellow said, “If you have nothing to offer except a good home, clothes, toys and the other things that most kids have, why, I would just as soon stay here.”

“What on Earth could you want besides those things?” the woman asked. “I just want someone to love me,” replied the little boy. His answer was stunning.

The Bible says, “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, … but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:3, 8, NKJV). We have material goods and everything technology can provide, yet we’ve reached an all-time high of dissatisfaction and our morals have plunged to an all-time low. The reason: Our hunger for God has been dulled or wiped out by other things like money, security, and success. The heart cannot be satisfied with man’s best effort, and the search goes on.

Our souls can never subsist on the husks of this pleasure-seeking world. Our deeper longings can be met only by a renewed fellowship with the One in whose image we were created: God.

========

(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

©2025 Billy Graham Literary Trust. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

(c)2025 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.