Becoming God's Hands

You've heard me talk about Tom Davis here and the work he and Children's Hope Chest are doing in Swaziland, where half the adults have AIDS and most children are orphaned. He linked to a story a couple days ago that really touched me. When one of the teams arrived to cut firewood for the grandmothers and orphans, the army prevented them. Frustrated, they set out on a home visit and found a woman, very sick and shriveled with five children. Another look revealed that the form near her was a baby. A newborn.

The four-week-old child had not eaten in several days and had taken to sleeping instead of crying. They left (this was one stop on the way, a care point) and went back to other people and prayed and tried to assess what to do. One of the workers, a woman, who does not feel comfortable with children heard the story. When they returned to the care point, she had the baby, who is now being treated at the abandoned baby hospital nearby.

Though the story is heartbreaking and hard to hear (I'm still wondering what happened to the other children. Have mercy) I am encouraged and inspired by the actions of that one woman to embrace something, someone so beyond her. That's hard for us (well me, maybe not you). Most times, in real life, I fail at it. In my writing though, my heart stretches in faith, often showing me who I really am. Who I want to be.

For Team Ignite, Jesus showed up as a Swazi baby. Look around. Who is your Jesus today? What can we do today to be God's hands in the world? It might be as simple as buying some Saint's Coffee instead of Starbucks and feeding an orphan for a month. Or skipping a fast food lunch and blessing someone (near or far) with five dollars. For others, it might even mean spending five days in Africa. Or sending someone else there. Let's take time today and write down one thing we can do for our Jerusalem (neighborhood and city), Samaria (state and nation) and the uttermost parts of the earth (the world).

Today's Grace:

Father God,

Thank you for the little baby rescued in Swaziland. We praise you for guiding our steps according to your plans. We pray that the child heal swiftly and grow healthy. May no disease, including HIV or anything else, be found in that little body. Give the doctors wisdom and knowledge and cause every cell in that baby's body to line up with your word. Bless the woman and others who are caring for the baby. Give the strength to be Your hands in the earth. Touch the hearts of those whom you would have to support and join them. Bless the dying mother and her other children with comfort, food and Your saving grace. We give You all the glory and all the praise. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Today's Rhythm: Rezound, First Christian concert in Vietnam...EVER!

Comments

[Sam]

This is quite a post! My friends and I are struggling through some of the same things...How do we mobilize the church to be the hands and feet of Jesus...We just launched this blog/website and would love to get you involved somehow...http://redletterscampaign.com

[Marilynn]

Sam,
I'm going to have to stop over and check that out! Thanks for stopping by.