God is at Work

The time in India was a full and productive one, and now the long journey home is about to begin. So many people that we have met, so many stories to absorb, so many examples of love, service, and Christ-like humility. And the children? They are kids just like our kids. They like to laugh, play, and are curious, just like our kids. They have hopes and dreams, just like our kids. The only difference is, these kids have suffered…many of them a lot. In their few years of life many of them have experienced more suffering than most of us ever will. It’s into this suffering that Jesus has come. He is at work, reaching out to these kids with His love demonstrated in daily food, clothing, shelter, and care-takers that truly love them. He is at work, conveying to them through the actions and words of His people and Word that He wants a personal relationship with each one of them. He is at work, raising up the next generation of witnesses to go out as salt and light to those around.

Looking back over the last couple of weeks, if there is one thing that I could boil it all down to, it’d be this: God is at work. Everywhere we went, from the urban megacity of Calcutta to the backwaters of Sikkim, God was there, growing His Kingdom one life at a time. His strategy is simple: deploy those who are willing and obedient, and who trust Him to bring the results in His time and in His way. It’s through the slum-dwelling child who fearlessly chose Christ in the face of a possible beating or riducule. It’s through the man they call “mama” whose heart was broken for those little ones affected by HIV/AIDS. It’s through the wife who sold her necklace and ring so the orphanage could go on for yet another month. Each sacrifice, each act of faith, each step forward in faith is a brick that God uses in building His Kingdom.

What about us? Most who are reading this do not live in India, but God still beckons you to join Him in building His Kingdom there. Your faithful financial support and prayers re-fuel the vision of the orphanage leaders, enabling them to do what God has asked them to. Your outreach to the children by way of letter-writing speaks truth to them that they are special, loved, and have intrinsic God-given worth. Your advocacy on behalf of orphans to family and friends makes you a “helper of the fatherless”, one who surely will receive a reward. Your prayers that God will send these kids to others with the Gospel will surely be answered.

God is at work. He becons us to join Him.