Loving Jesus Through a Child
Guess what? It is that time of the year again when I hit the road and visit churches throughout the U.S. I’d love to come visit your church, hint, hint! I was just at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. While attending the weekly Family Night Supper on a Thursday night, I noticed hundreds of little children amongst all the families. Boy, if you could just capture all that energy!
I was a bit overwhelmed by all these children until I heard from my team in Vietnam. Rivers of the World (ROW) staff Drew McIlreavy and Freddie Davis, along with three volunteers, looked after 1,050 children in over a dozen orphanages during their 10 days in central Vietnam. We have been so blessed. When a businessman heard about what the team was doing in Vietnam, he tripled the amount of funds we had to work with, resulting in ROW providing 53 bicycles to children and countless amounts of food and clothing for over 1,000 children. By the grace of God, we were able to change numerous young lives in Vietnam.
It is not difficult to influence a person’s life. You simply make a decision and follow through. Jesus had a special place in His heart for children. When we take the time to extend love to children and strive to make their lives better, in effect we are showing our love for Jesus and His Father.
In Mark 9:37, Jesus stated:
“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
We must realize that no matter how young a person is, God can, and often does, work through a child in ways that are quite remarkable at times. A child’s faith is far more pure than that of an adult. Never underestimate the power of demonstrating compassion and love in a child’s life.
