Last month Denver and the Mile High Orchestra came to town (he's a hometown boy) to play. And during their concert they took the time to show a video about Compassion and encourage people to become sponsors. I'm always so touched when people take the time to promote God's work when they could easily be promoting their own work. Clearly Compassion's work has touched many people's lives, not just the children, but their sponsor's as well.
Melissa's blog entries are a perfect example of that. I can't even begin to do it justice so you just need to go there and read it for yourself. But here's a word she has for the sponsors of these children.
They identified with us because we represented to them their individual sponsors. Let me tell you, no let me assure you- your sponsor child knows your name. Not just your first name. Your last name, too. They lined up with drums to usher you into the place you’ve financially provided for them. A place of hope. A place where that abstract verb “to dream” becomes something that just might be tangible. A place where they hear for the first time that they have dignity and worth before the Most High God. They treasure the letters that you write to them. They don’t toss them in the trash. No, they store them in a safe place. And this will really get you. If you sponsor a child in India, you’re probably the only one who has ever told your child, “I love you.” Our Compassion India specialist told us that in the Indian culture, particularly among the poor, parents do not express love to their children. She said, “Even though the parents really do love their children, they don’t show it. Rarely does a parent actually come out and express their love for their child.” Can you imagine? Let it sink in. You, even though you might think you’re just a little sponsor person who hastily filled out a form during a concert, are most likely the only adult who has blatantly expressed love for this child. A real living and breathing child.
For me personally, this comment made me stop and think. I'm still thinking about it and how it should change my daily life.
I read something recently that Richard Bauckham wrote and it really rocked me. He said, “Poverty, in a sense, exposes the truth of the human situation in its need of God. It dispels the illusion of being self-sufficient and secure, with no need of God. The poor are those whose material condition enables them to see more clearly than most the human need to be wholly reliant on God. It is in this sense that the biblical poor are understood as paradigmatic in their faith.” (Richard Bauckham, Wisdom of James, disciple of Jesus the Sage, 190).
What are you still reading my blog for? Go. Read. Now. Then do something about what you read.
1 comment:
My friend Robin also went with Compassion to India and blogged about her trip. Good stuff: http://www.pensieve.me/
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