Orphans and the Ever After

 By: Lauren Thomas

Lately, my kids have had a special fascination with playing “orphans.” Did you ever pretend to be an orphan as a child? Did you make believe that you were longing for the perfect home, only to be adopted and given the life of your dreams? I know I did! Children are often enthralled with the story of orphans finding their home.

 

It’s a theme you can find in fairy tales and folklore, literature and cinema: the orphan yearning for a home, the orphan being sought out by someone greater than their imagination could have hoped for. A few examples include Cinderella, Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, the Boxcar children, Annie, etc. In some orphan themes, a parent exists, yet is separated from the child. Consider, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in which the four Pevensie children were evacuated from London to the countryside to find safety during World War II. They found that a lion and a great destiny were waiting for them where they least expected.

 

I think this archetypal theme is more than good storytelling.

 

I think these stories have their origin in something much deeper.

 

I think this theme is part of our nature, woven into our DNA.

 

We sense somewhere deep inside that we were made for more than our lives, destined for more than our circumstances. We sense that our true home is far grander than where we find ourselves. We hope beyond hope that someone who loves us deeply is seeking us out and will one day bring us home to that place.

 

It’s the story of the gospel.

 

We were made in glory and walked with the Creator. But with sin, we became estranged from Him. Yet the Father, the King, sought us out and offered us adoption into His Kingdom. And we await the “happily ever after.”

 

That is why kids play “orphans.” It’s why we are obsessed with stories with this theme.

 

¹⁵ …but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Romans 8:15a-17 ESV

 

If you have put faith and trust in Jesus for salvation, you have received the Spirit of adoption. You are a child of God. If you are a child, you are a co-heir with Christ. You were sought out by a King and Father. You are inheriting a Kingdom.

 

And we know that Heaven, the ultimate happily ever after, awaits us.

 

Reflection:

Did you ever pretend to be an orphan? What is your favorite “orphan” story? What does it mean to you that you are no longer an orphan and that you are inheriting a kingdom?