Two days ago, we went to a care point to do sponsorship updates. Kids were everywhere. And, these kids were some of the rougher ones we have encountered—fighting, biting, definite hierarchy of bullies. You did not have to be well versed in child psychology to know these children are being abused—physically and sexually.
It is awful. .absolutely horrendous.
And yet, it is so easy to become frustrated at behavior without seeing the reasons behind it. It is so easy to disengage because you are irritated, because you do not want nor feel like showing patience and love, and because you will never see these children again.
You can be put off by their behaviors… by them.
By the five year old who slaps, kicks, or bites every person who enters into his two-foot radius. By the seven year old who acts slightly sensual. By the ten year old who refuses to interact with you, even after you have shot her your best smile and pulled out your camera (a guaranteed sure-fire way to start fun). By the thirteen year old who clearly understands and speaks English, yet will not respond in anything but their native language and even these words hold a superior tone as they make fun of you (side note: isn’t it interesting how you can always tell when someone is negatively talking about you – no matter the language?)
After months of children’s ministry- the World Race specialty – it is so easy to unknowingly let your heart become calloused. We see hundreds of children in every country. Dirt, filth, ratty clothes, broken shoes, rotting teeth, distended bellies, lice-infested hair, and grabby hands exist in every country into which we venture. The shock that touched your heart in the first few months fades. You begin to see as normal what should never be. You settle into a routine—becoming adept at entering any community in any country and becoming just present enough to last for a few hours. You become really good at a fake, genuine smile – the one that forcibly appears when the kids come near and fades almost as quickly as they run away.
Beloved friends, this should not be!
The children you see as filthy kids who are just like the ones you saw yesterday, last week, and last month are unique sons and daughters of the Lord Most High.
They are precious gifts to the world—a fallen world that perverts innocence and delights in depravity. We are not to become calloused to the plight of God’s children. We are not to become desensitized to the work of the enemy—calling it normal, usual, and “just how it is.” We are not to retreat into sin when we see brokenness- the effects of sins—before our eyes. We should never disregard the horror of abuse, and then become self-righteous in our approach to the physical manifestation of that abuse in the behavior of those abused.
WAKE UP!
Wake to the horrors before your eyes. Wake to the helpless, silent cries of the children. Wake to the compassion of Christ, lavished upon you—a compassion we are to carry in the whole of every moment.
Wake up and live.
Live the love of Christ—showing patience to the violent five year old, caring boundaries to the sensual seven year old, consistency and perseverance to the standoffish ten year old, grace to the arrogant thirteen year old.
Wake up and pray for fresh eyes, a renewed mind, and a repentant heart.
Let Christ destroy the apathy within you, taking you to a deeper place—a place full of great love for those around you, a place of great heartbreak (for great love brings sorrow and pain), a place where you are feelingly alive to the story – the joys and sufferings – of the children of God.
