Priorities
Aug 01, 2012
Have you ever looked around your house and noticed that there always seems to be repairs that need to be made? Some are the result of “wear and tear.” Others may be from neglect. Yes, it takes work to maintain a house. Removing stains, adding another coat of paint, or fixing a leaking sink are time consuming and troublesome. But it takes an even greater sense of commitment to maintain a home and a family. We at Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes (ABCH) realize that God’s intent was for children to be parented by their birth families. But we also know, sadly enough, that some parents cannot or will not commit themselves to providing for their children.
And when children in these families face unthinkable hurts, ABCH desires to live out our vision to offer hope and wholeness through knowing God.
The leaks, cracks, and all the other flaws in the buildings where we live are temporal. Our houses have no eternal value. We can’t take our belongings with us when we leave this world. At least, I’ve never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul. Yet why is it that I can often spend more time caring for the temporary than focusing on the eternal? You may be guilty as well.
The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:20 “…lay up for yourself treasures in heaven…”
The fact is, you and I both need to invest more time, talents and treasures in maintaining the occupants of a home instead of the items in the house. We at the Children’s Homes are striving to do just that. We are in a maintenance and repair business that has eternal consequences.
We care for real children who have many cracks, scars, chips, nicks, and breaks from circumstances beyond their control. I encourage you to join our "business." You may abe a "master craftsman" with God-given abilities to help restore broken lives. You may be a "supplier" of the equipment needed to help improve the quality of the restoration. Or you may just want to be a "silent partner" who provies the fiancial recources to keep this business - God's business of protecting, nurturing and restoring children and families through Christ-centered services - going.
So the next time you look around your house and think of all the repairs that are needed, remember the children -particularly the children that pass our way that need to be restored.
By Bob Dewhurst, ABCH VP, Ministry Development