I Love Stories About Orphans. Why?

The majority of bestselling stories (at least in middle grade and YA) feature an orphan protagonist. Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, and The Mysterious Benedict Society all feature orphans. And even The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson feature main characters raised by one parent, in both cases the mother, with the father either dead or out of the picture. In my own writing, I have found myself gravitating towards writing stories about orphans who get adopted by kings or chiefs, and orphans who play a large role in saving their world and families. This has led me to ask myself the question: why do we love stories about orphans so much? What does it say about us? Why is it a standard in modern literature, especially fantasy?

Then a thought struck me: what if we love stories about orphans who turn out to be the chosen ones because it echoes our condition before God ever found us and prophesies our destiny as world changers? I believe that we resonate with orphan stories because at some point, all of us have been orphans ourselves.

We Were Once All Orphans

Many identify with an orphan protagonist because it is where they are coming from in real life. Whether it was being raised by a single mom, divorced parents, foster care, or numerous other situations, orphan stories resonate because they are prominent in our society. And all of us, regardless of our upbringing, need to believe that we are special not because of our family situation but because of who we are. If this is your story, you are seen and there are numerous good chapters in your life yet to be written by God.

But the issue goes deeper than this. All of us were born orphans because of our sinful nature. The minute Adam and Eve sinned, they surrendered the dominion God had given them to the one who tempted them. This is the same authority Satan would later claim as his own (Luke 4:6). From that moment, every person would be born outside the family of God, distanced from relationship with the Father. Rather than being born in the king’s household, we were born out of it due to the sin that poisoned us and made us incompatible with God.

Jesus Came To Show Us the Way Back To the Father

The Gospel is the story of the Son, Jesus, leaving His home to remind humanity of who they were designed to be: children of God. Jesus spent His earthly ministry doing everything in His power to reveal who the Father was. Jesus showed that the Father loved unconditionally, cared fiercely, and forgave without reserve.

Jesus became a model of what God was so that when people saw Him, they would have a vivid and tangible reference of the good Father. Jesus Himself put it this way:

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” – John 14:9 (NKJV)

Jesus came to the world to remind humanity that we were intended to be children of God. He came fully aware of the sin that separated us from Him and died in our place so that we could become children of God and coheirs with Christ.

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” – Romans 8:16-17 (NKJV)

God loves you so much, He won’t rest until you remember who He created you to be and become a part of His family. If you’ve never given your life to God, and long for a family, a Father, and a place to belong, He is ready to welcome you home!

What Is An Orphan Spirit?

And yet, despite the fact that many have given our lives to Christ and know we belong to His family, many are still living like orphans. This is what we call an orphan spirit. In other words, even though we have a Father and a family, we still live, act, and think like orphans. What is the orphan mentality?

Orphans believe that there is never enough, having a scarcity mentality. They believe that they have to fight for what they want, and have to earn everything in their lives, whether this be physical, emotional, or spiritual. An orphan spirit leads a person to see themselves as inferior, lacking, and not good enough. An orphan spirit will tell a person that unless they look out for themselves, no one else will. Ultimately, an orphan spirit ends up looking a lot like slavery. There is no independent thought, but service to our fears, weaknesses, and insecurities.

How many of us have this mentality in our lives and relationships with God? Many of us believe that if someone else succeeds, there won’t be enough success left for us. Or we believe that God won’t take care of us so we have to take care of ourselves. Or we see ourselves as lacking, and we perform to win God’s approval, the approval of others, and even the approval of ourselves. These are all habits and beliefs rooted in an orphan spirit.

The Truth: We Are Sons and Daughters

And yet, we have been adopted by the Father and made new through the blood of our older brother, Jesus Christ. We have been given the opposite of an orphan spirit, and that is the Spirit of adoption:

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” – Romans 8:15 (NKJV)

We have received the Spirit of adoption, not a spirit of bondage that leads to fear. The truth is we are all sons and daughters of God through Christ. The Spirit of adoption is the opposite of the orphan spirit. The Spirit of adoption tells us we are loved, regardless of how much or how little we do. It tells us that we are valuable, God will always protect us and look out for us, and there will always be more than enough. The Spirit of adoption tells us we are worthwhile, seen, accepted, and important just as we are. And greater than this, the Spirit of adoption lets us know that we were made for incredible things and have destinies bigger than we can imagine.

You Have a Big Destiny

Anne changed Matthew and Marilla’s world and grew up to be an incredible woman, wife, and mother. Mary Lennox united her uncle’s family and brought new life to Misselthwaite Manor. Reynie Muldoon and his friends ultimately saved the world from Mr. Curtain and his Whisperer. Katniss became the symbol of a rebellion against the Capitol, and Percy Jackson saved Mount Olympus. All these orphans in their stories turned out to be special, and they changed their worlds for the better.

We have also been destined for greater things, and God, our Father, has purposed us to change our worlds.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

You may have grown up as a real or spiritual orphan, but God destined you for good works long before the world existed. He saw you, and loved you. He still sees you, just as you are, and He still loves you. He has designed good works for you to do to change your family, community, and world. If you have felt insignificant, unlovable, or unseen, remember that you have not been given the spirit of bondage which leads you to fear, but the Spirit of adoption which helps you say with full confidence: I am a child of God.

Next time you read (or watch) one of your favorite orphan stories, remember that you have an even bigger destiny than they have.

Thanks for reading!
Anna

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Photo by Viktor Talashuk on Unsplash