We are responsible. I am not sure if we always realize that we all have a divine purpose and the very fact that we are all here together means we are connected in the body of Christ. God has given each of us a gift and the gift is as unique as each individual here.
As we all know this month is youth month and we are here to celebrate our children, but I would like to bring back into our minds for just a moment, the two little boys that were being bullied; one in Georgia and the other in Massachusetts, who committed suicide. They never knew that Jesus was the answer to the hurt and pain they felt, they never knew that they could find refuge in Him, they were babies.
My heart grieves for them and their parents on so many levels. All I felt like I could do was cry out to God and pray, “Father, what can I do?” I did not have to pray long before it came to me. As a Christian, I have a responsibility to help the children and the parents of the children that I meet, here in Shiloh and outside of the doors of Shiloh. I am asking all the people here who are in the capacity to help to start helping. I am not sure what the faith of the parents was before these tragedies happened or even now, but in this day and age we as a Christian community need to reach out in our communities to do all we can to try to make a difference for our children here and the children outside of the Body of Christ.
God connected us to one another no matter what you want to think or believe. We must get back to a “it takes a village” mentality in order to make a difference. I hear people talk about all that is going on out in the world but that world that we talk about, our children live in. I ask you can, or do you make a difference? I have made a decision that I will be the change that I want to see in the lives of the children I come in contact with. I am asking everyone who can, to do the same. I can imagine what a child must be experiencing on more than one level. I can see it from the eyes of a child because I was a child. I can see it from a parents’ perspective because I am a parent. I know the feeling of being hopeless and helpless, not knowing what to do to protect my children. Before I knew God loved me and realized my worth, I felt that same helplessness and hopelessness, however, I am here because I know God has a purpose for my life that is bigger than all of my circumstances or any situation, but children don’t know that, they just do not know. They are searching and seeking answers for their pain. Some parents do not know they too, need the Savior. They are all in the same position that we were in before God called us into the fold before we realized that He loves us. It is our responsibility to go out from Shiloh and proclaim the Word of God, to use the gifts that God has given us, to be a beacon of light for those that are in darkness, to show the way, to lead back to Christ.
My son was being picked on at school a few days ago. On his lunch break he called me from his cell phone and said, “Mom this boy keeps bothering me” and I immediately said, “What Boy?”. He said, “I don’t want to tell you his name, but he is one of the kids that was bothering me before”. I said go tell the teacher”, and he said, “I did but the teacher didn’t do anything, in fact the teacher said to the boy ‘what is the problem’ and the boy said ‘nothing’”. “But then the boy was even worst because he felt like I was snitching on him.” I said, “do you want me to call the school and set up a meeting?” He replied “No ma, I am okay. I can handle him I am not afraid of him”. He then said, “I want to beat him up but no matter how mad I get something keeps stopping me and I called to ask you why, Because I want to get him”. I started smiling because I knew in that moment and knowing my son, that God has his hands all over him and that the same Holy Ghost that keeps me, is keeping him. But what about the children who do not know our Lord and Savior? We are responsible.
Submitted by Sis. Kim Evans