I am enjoying a time in South Florida. I was able to complete the reading of the book, A Hole In Our Gospel by Richard Stearns, The President of World Vision. I am not going to go into a lot of the details found in the book, but I am going to recommend that everyone read this book. I would say that this book has caused me to pause and reflect on my standing as a Christian. I know after reading this book that I am not doing what I am called to do. In fact I would say that a majority of professing Christians have forgotten a major part of the Gospel.
Mr. Stearns has given us some shocking statistics in this book that woke me up to the dire situation the children and families of our world are in. The most shocking fact is that 25,000 children in our world die everyday due to hunger, unsanitary water and lack of medical care. An ear infection can be a death sentence. Mothers cannot produce enough milk to sustain their newborn infants. So what are we to do? We cannot solve all of the worlds problems and after all Christ told us that there would always be poor people among us. Also most of those suffering are not in our country. I have heard many people say we must take care of our own before we worry about the rest of the world. I do not think that God called us to worry about only those in our neighborhoods or our own country. We have been blessed in the United States and I feel that God expects us to use the resources He has given us to help those in need, no matter where they are located.
What are we to do? How can we solve the problems of the hungry thousands of miles away? There are excellent organizations including World Vision, the Southern Baptist Convention and countless others that can take our funds and maximize the value of these gifts to help the most people. If we help just one or a few we can change countless lives. One person directed by God in the midst of Africa can change lives all around him. It is up to us to give this one person a chance. You might say I am only one person. I am too small to make a difference. A quoted African Saying is "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try spending the night in a closed room with a mosquito."
Another hindrance for many would be that they do not trust some of the organizations that offer aid to those in need. Some of these might include World Vision or the United Nations, etc. The sad thing is that our churches have for the most part dropped the ball in having a burden for the least of these. Again it is not in our backyard so we turn a blind eye. This is not to condemn the efforts of all churches but you would have to agree that many of the mega churches have massive budgets but contribute a small percentage to missions. Should be spend huge amounts on buildings or feed the poor? I would say that I would be slow to condemn any organization or individual who helps the hurting and the dying regardless of their affiliation as the church has failed miserably. It was amazing to me that the amount of money required to eliminate hunger, disease and premature death in our world is a small amount in comparison to the dollars spent on other ministries by churches. I also think about the stimulus money being spent by our country on the most foolish things in the world, such as tunnels for turtles to cross the road in Florida when we have 25,000 children dying everyday in the world.
I can remember the debate surrounding the Aids epidemic. It was not our problem because the people contracting the virus were participating in behaviour that contributed to their illness and death. What about the children born with Aids? Is it their fault? Are we to turn a blind eye to this crisis? If we knew that a home full of children were dying in a fire and we could help them, would we? Of course and we would not have a second thought. Yet we turn our backs on people everyday only because they are not in our neighborhood or our community. We have an obligation from God to feed and care for the poor. I feel He will hold us accountable for ignoring them.
We are not all called to travel to distant lands to lend a hand to the hurting. But we are called to do all we can to support those who can. As you can tell this book has inspired me to open my heart to listen to God and what He would have me to do. I think each of us must ask the question "What would God have me to do?" I personally spend enough money on frivolous things to care for several children who are dying today. I could save lives tomorrow with just a stroke of a pen.
This book was put into my path so that it would cause me to reflect on my calling from God. It is a book that really stirred up within me a burden for those who suffer today. I know that I must spend some time digesting the book and what it is I must do. In some ways I wish I had never picked it up as it made me uncomfortable but it also made me realize that I have neglected a major part of the gospel. Our gospel is about more that getting fire insurance. It is about our obligation to reach the world for Christ. If a child or an adult are suffering we must first alleviate the suffering. The love of God will shine brightly to those we minister to. I invite you to step up to the plate. Read this book and open your heart to the love God has for the least of these and join Him in caring for them.
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