conservation

"For in the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." --B. Dioum 


This is obviously talking about animals...but can the same be said about children?




Do we Love children?  Not just our own children.  Not just the cute children.  Not just the well behaved children.  Not just the children that we come in contact with.  


But the child in Eastern Europe with no parent that loves him that will die of dehydration in an institution.  
And the baby in Haiti whose mommy can't care for her so she just gives her away.  
And the boy in Uganda who has been forced to kill another.   
And the unwanted baby girl left to die in a ditch in China.
And the sick 
And the ugly
And the difficult 
And the unloveable.


That is the Heart of MY God.  He loves the unloveable.  


And he loves me.  Me, who's heart, deep down, is as selfish and ugly as everyone else's.  




Do we understand?  Do we undertand what these children are going through?  Or do we shut our eyes and cover our ears and hum a happy tune so that we forget.  Do we zone out so that we can get the sickening images of children in unbelievable conditions out of our brains.  


I have.  I have for many years.  I've hummed the happy tune of "Jesus loves me" in my comfortable, air conditioned home with more JUNK than I even want, let alone need.


But when I started singing "Jesus loves the little children" with my eyes and mind wide open to Who "all the children of the world" are, I wasn't so comfortable.




Have we been taught?  Yes.  We have been taught.  We know.  We know that there are so many unloved children in the world we probably can't even count or comprehend it.


I'm lucky to say that I'm in a church that I have heard the word adoption from the pulpit from time to time.  And many Christian celebrities are using their platform to campaign for these precious souls.  (Caring for their bodies in Jesus name IS caring for their souls)




Pure Religion is "to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  As James 1:27 says this is the only "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless!"


Do we want to be accepted by God? 
Is our heart aching for those that the Lord loves?  
Really?  
What are we doing to "conserve" what we love?  
Are we leaving that job for someone else?


"To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger."  Romans 2:7-8

And if we are "doing anything,"  are we doing it in the name of the Holy Son of the Living God with the sole purpose to make His name known and glorified in every corner of the Earth?  

Or are we "doing" as a means to lift our own name, or check a box.  "Doing" just enough to clear the guilt nagging our self-serving heart.

"Once our eyes have been opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:14


God is opening the eyes of the church to the suffering of the orphans around the world!  


Praise God!  Open my eyes God!  Let me hear your voice!  Let me hear the cries of help from the unloved!  the orphaned and widowed!  Let me go forth and love as You have loved me!  Please use me to shine YOUR light in every corner of the Earth!  Open my eyes and ears and don't ever let them be shut again!  Use me!  Use me to crush the enemy's plans to squelch the fire that is starting to burn brightly in the church!  


Please pray with me about what God wants us (personally, as a family and as a church)  to do in response to this awakening.


If every Christian family adopted, Heaven might be that much fuller. 

And if every person that visited my sisters blog gave just $2, then she would be thousands of dollars closer to her son who is now sleeping in a crib in an orphanage in Eastern Europe as he has done all 4 years of his life.  


Conserve what you love...Love what He loves.