SEND magazine Third Quarter 2003: Destined for the Kingdom
Destined for the Kingdom
by Heidi Chupp, Managing Editor, SEND Magazine
Recently I saw an image of a father cradling his wounded child. The child lay limp and helpless—perhaps dying. Tears blurred the father's eyes. A look of anguish creased his face. His mouth was pulled open in an unnatural-looking grimace, a panicked sob.
It was a difficult experience to look at these two. Their pain spilled out of the still image before me. I felt uncomfortable and wanted to turn away, yet I could not ignore them.
Millions of children in Asia face similar plights as the helpless child I saw in his father's arms. Some have parents who grieve over their suffering; but for countless others, no one cares.
Consider just a few of the challenges these children in Asia face:
*Only about 20 percent of Bhutan's children receive a primary education. Of these, 60 percent drop out by sixth grade; and 50 percent of the remainder leave school by eighth grade. (Bhutan Women and Children Organization)
*Nearly 150 children have been killed in war-related violence in Nepal; 2,000 have been orphaned and 4,000 are homeless due to the conflict. (BBC Online)
*Myanmar (Burma) is believed to have one of the highest numbers of child soldiers in the world—70,000—with some as young as 11 years old.(US State Department)
*There are estimated to be 6.6 million working children in Bangladesh, some as young as five or six years old. (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics)
*As many as 10,000 Sri Lankan children between the ages of 6 and 14 are enslaved in brothels.
(Coalition Against Trafficking in Women)
*An estimated 18 million children live and work on the streets of India—the largest population of street children in the world. (United Nations Development Program)
How do we respond when confronted head-on with such harsh realities? With the same attitude Jesus has, one fueled by His compassion:
“Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me” (Matthew 19:14, Mark 9:37).
Without a vision, these children have no place to go. In the eyes of society, they might as well be garbage to be thrown out, for they have no future. But the Lord has a vision for them—they are precious in His sight and destined for His kingdom.
As they see the children on their mission fields through the eyes of Jesus, Gospel for Asia native missionaries have numerous opportunities to practically show them His love and compassion.
Gospel for Asia's field leader in Nepal echoes Jesus' open-hearted attitude toward children.
“The Lord Jesus had a special place for children in His heart,” he says. “GFA Believers Churches in Nepal have taken this truth seriously. All students from our three Bible schools are given special training for ministry to children. Graduates, regardless of their age, will have as their first responsibility the teaching and training of children in the church where they are assigned.
“Our leadership believes that unless a person is involved in children's ministry at the beginning of his service, it is almost impossible for him to become a committed leader in the Lord's work.”
“Churches in Nepal are dead without children—they bring life, joy and excitement.”
Looking at the father holding his hurting child gave me a deeper understanding of the love of my heavenly Father. That same love caused His Son to willingly put on not only human form but also our sin, and ultimately, death.
With His love and compassion, I cannot close my heart to the needs of these children, or pretend they or their needs don't exist. There must not be anything in me that hinders children from coming to Jesus. Instead, I can be a part of providing opportunities for them to find His welcoming arms.
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