In a sermon about compassion, I heard a list of statistics and I feel like since then it has been right before my eyes.
More than half of the world’s population (52%) is under the age of 15.
Two out of three children live in dire poverty meaning less than $2 a day.
There are about 13 million children orphaned because of AIDS.
It is estimated that 100 million children live on the streets of the world’s urban centers (babies…2-4 yrs).
28% (1 in 4) of children are mal-nuritioned and 17 million children starve to death every year.
A lot of times these facts are just words on a piece of paper and statistics are a bunch of numbers. But over the last few months, I feel like I have a face to put with each and every one of these statistics. And now when I read these numbers my heart breaks. My very spirit grieves at the pain and injustice going on in the world and even more so at the fact that most of the richer part of the world has no idea or doesn’t care about it. It breaks my heart to think that I had no understanding or desire to know about the severity of poverty in the very world I live in because I was so wrapped up in my comfortable American life.
What hurts me the most is the part about these statistics being about children. Innocent children who cannot take care of themselves and are born into such pain and suffering. In the midst of all this, God is showing me his heart and teaching me more about his bride, his church.
I get frustrated when we immediately turn the blame to God for all the injustice in the world, when in reality he grieves and mourns over it and has asked us, his church, to do something about it. He has given us that responsibility and when nothing happens, we blame him. Jesus said, YOU heal the sick, YOU raise the dead, YOU feed the hungry, YOU give to the poor and needy, YOU take care of widows and orphans. If we as the church are not doing that, then we cannot blame God for the injustice in the world. God HATES injustice. We need to learn our identity and the authority given to us so we can begin exercising it. Because God wants to use his church, his people. The sick will not get healed if no one puts his hands on them and heals them. The hungry will not be satisfied if no one gives them something to eat.
This month I had the opportunity to visit an organization that is doing what Jesus has asked of us. Compassion International is a non-profit organization that meets the needs of children in poverty all over the world. People support children through Compassion and the organization is able to feed, clothe and teach the children. Here in Togo, the organization is so well-run and self-sufficient that we were not needed very much. But we were able to visit one of the projects and see how it works.
I almost started crying when I saw children lined up to receive breakfast and the looks on their faces as they ate. They were so joyful! They were so full of life and all I could think about was how they have nothing and have been born into one of the worst living conditions and yet their faces glowed. I know that this is because of the amazing work Compassion International is doing. These kids were different than any other kids I’ve seen on the race.
It may not feel like much, but even just spending $38 a month to support a child through Compassion makes a difference. And I feel priviledged to say that I have seen the difference and have been a part of feeding and playing with these kids. In Togo, Compassion serves over 4000 children at about 40 different project sites. Many of the children have not yet been supported. I don’t this to sound like a commercial but if you want to support a child, you can visit the Compassion International website.
