Consider the Orphan and Fatherless Children

Job 29:12 (KJV)
Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. 

A story made popular in the news caught my eye. 

It speaks of a young man who cried in church for a family... he wanted to be adopted. There was a lot of attention, a media frenzy, as well as an out pouring of offers of adoption from individuals across the country. 
Reference: Lane DeGregory, Tampa Bay Times 

Now all of this is fine and dandy, but it still boils down to a lot of "Hoop-La." My questions are these...

Where was the attention or the offers before his plea became public? 

Why does the media (in general) wait for angles and public appeal before jumping on the bandwagon? 

 Why do we generally wait on the media?  

While I might be willing to give a pass to the media as an institution, I can not give a pass to the individual, especially not to those who follow Christ.

Everyday, as we go about our hustle and bustle, there are a countless number of children who languish without notice in the adoption system. For the most part we only recognize their existence on those occasions, such as this one, that spring to our attention in the news media. And in our attention - we seem quite comfortable in allowing ourselves not to notice or acknowledge their presence. 

America boasts of a Christian Heritage, something that is also being debated in recent times. For the sake of argument, lets say that "We Are" a nation of Christians. If Christian, then we are failing. We've failed because we have dropped the ball on the poor, the fatherless, and those that have none to help them. 


In private it's easy to say things like...

 It's not my fault.  
It's not my problem.  
It's none of my business.
They're not my children. 

All of these are excuses. They're excuses... being offered to justify an individual's lack of humanity. This is even more profoundly true of anyone, who, insists on being identified as Christian. 

Why are we so afraid to practice righteousness and perform those acts of kindness that we know to be good? 

Psalm 82:3 (KJV)
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. 

To be fare, I know full well that not every person is in a position to accommodate a full scale adoption, I don't expect everybody to be. However, you still can't excuse that fact that there are way too many who are able, but don't lift a finger. There are Christians who possess the resources, both financial and logistic, and in a lot of cases the mental fortitude necessary. What they lack is commitment. It is to them that I offer this debunking of the excuses mentioned earlier. Hopefully my expansion will give us all some things to consider from a spiritual perspective. Maybe a few of us can find the encouragement to go further in committing to those who are hurting... "Our Children."  


Psalm 71:17-18 (KJV)
O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. 

It's not my fault.

Oh really, are we really going to try an hide behind this as an excuse? It's not about finding fault, it's not a blame game. OK. so you didn't do anything to bring about the conditions or circumstances that went into this tragic outcome... that may be true. Still, I don't think it fully lets you off the hook. If we are aware of conditions and circumstances that carry the potential for harm, can we comfortably turn our heads and ignore them? While we may view this as far removed and not affecting us personally, it still affects someone. Someone is hurting and feeling pain. What happened to the simple values of compassion, a quality known to be a part of Christ's character. Should it not also be the character of all who would be "Christ Follows?" 


Lamentations 3:32-33 (KJV)
But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.

 

It's not my problem.

Poison in the Kool-aid is a problem. The fact that you're not drinking it might make it slightly less of a problem for you... but it's still a problem. The world we live in, our world, comes with its own set of problems. Problems that present themselves in our lifetime, that makes them "Our Problems." They are a problem for the whole of mankind, and neglecting them only passes them on to a new generation in addition to the set of problems that will come to that generation in their time. Stop for a moment and consider what we presently face. Everything from "Global Warming" to "World Hunger", these issues exist because others passed the buck in neglecting them. Issues that go unresolved only fester and become worse.  


Philippians 2:14-15 (KJV)
Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 

It's none of my business. 

Happiness is a joint project. More so, Jesus Himself desired that our joy be full. How can we truly be happy when those around us are miserable? Everybody has needs, and among those needs are those which can not be supplied by the person in need. In addition to the need itself, they need assistance. Making life better is the business of us all, and we need to get busy making the effort. It will require cooperation because no one person is quite up to the task alone. 


Luke 2:49 (KJV)
And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 

They're not my children. 

Careful, I wouldn't be so quick to hold such a rigid point of view! We belong to the "Race of Man" and all children are the children of men. We may not have brought them into the world physically, but they are the only children we will experience during our lifetime... that alone gives us responsibility concerning them. They will grow up, live in our communities, become our neighbors, our co-workers, our good citizens, or the criminal element that we abhor. Whatever they become depends on how we regard them now. As Christians we have been charged with training them in the way they should go. With supplying them with the value of godly principles and the understanding of "God's Will." All of this not withstanding, children still fall under the banner of those included in the "Great Commission" carrying the potential to become a "Child of God." Do we really want to ignore a member of God's family by not including them in our own? 


Mark 10:14 (KJV)
But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.


In closing I encourage us all to consider that Our God is a merciful God. He takes up the cause of the neglected and forgotten, always seeking the lost. His favor is with His servants, those that take up "His Righteous Cause." I urge you to remember that as "Followers of Christ", we serve Him and not our own agendas or desires. Let us therefore be diligent, making an effort to ease the pain of those who are hurting... "Especially the Children." 

For a better understanding of Christian Character and being a Disciple with the Love of God... 

Read my book "The Jesus Command." 

Blessings
Matt. 

An Ending World

Don't let the title of this video fool you...
The message is on point.

The world we live in is riddled with trouble.
Pick up a paper or turn on the news.
I refer you to these sources because people find them easier to relate to.
They're generally looked at more so than the Biblical source.

Anybody that has payed attention to the Bible should not be surprised at the descending state of affairs.
The Prophets, the Apostles, and even Jesus Himself; all foretold that this would be the case.

What surprises me is how we generally discount the Bible and its warnings and then chalk it up as coincidence when reality confirms its truths.

Whether you accept the scriptures or not, it has to be clear to all that things are bad...
and they don't have a real favorable conclusion that we can see.
You'd really have to be well connected and privileged to some serious perks in order to be comfortable
and fully at ease with conditions the way they are.

Anybody that has hope for a better tomorrow must concede that this present day and age has to end.

2 Peter 3:13 (KJV)
Nevertheless we, according to his promise,
look for new heavens and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness. 

For a better understanding of the character of a Disciple and the Love of God... 

Read my book "The Jesus Command." 

Blessings
Matt.

Society Today

Homeless Killing --- Watch this news clip. This news story from CNN paints a vivid picture of what our society has become.

Having lived for years as a homeless man, it doesn’t shock me. Oh it disturbs me deeply but no it has no shocking effect. I have been that person that people move away from. I was the one that nobody wants to be bothered with. The person that they might catch something from or they wish just wasn’t there around them. After all, they are productive members of society, working to improve their life. I should have been doing the same, not allowing myself to be on the street. Something must have been wrong with me.

This man was left to die as people on the street didn't seem to care. Many saw him in need of help; yet nobody bothered. As it has often been said, “it happens all the time.” Now there may be something wrong with those who are homeless, but does that give reason to remove them from being counted as human. If it does then something is very wrong with the average productive member of everyday society. Something is certainly wrong in the way we’ve let this occurrence become common place among us.

Jesus was challenged by a person skilled in the law. He, the challenger, thought he could justify himself with what seemed a trick question. Today’s society like this challenger of Jesus tries to justify these acts of indifference with words that remove them from responsibility. They say; “it’s O.K, everybody does it, or it happens all the time.” Like all responsibility, when not faced there is a price to pay; consequences for our actions or inaction. The man asked Jesus the requirements for salvation.  He knew he was to love God and love his neighbor, but his trick question was in asking just who his neighbor was. Thinking to himself that Jesus was going to make distinctions or set limits on who could be included as a neighbor. Our society is showing itself to be doing the same exact thing. We have gone backward to repeat what history should have already pointed out as a gross error. Our neighbors are not limited to the narrow few that we surround ourselves with in polite settings. We have no basis for making distinctions to include or exclude members of our society. The world being our home makes the people in it… our neighbors. This would include the homeless, the man in the news being one of them. The parable Jesus told about the “Good Samaritan” has many similarities to this news video from. Just as there were consequences behind the story, there are consequences today in our lack of action.

Luke 10:36-37 (NIV) "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

If we are to obtain salvation, our place in eternal life; then society, and all of us as members of it; must learn to follow the directions of Christ… “Go and Do Likewise.”

With the Blessing of God,
Matt.