Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matters Most

Have you read this book? If not, you should. As I read, it is challenging me to change the way I view children. Wess Stafford is the president of Compassion International, a ministry Dave and I wholeheartedly support, whose goal is to "release children from poverty in Jesus' name". Growing up as the son of missionaries in West Africa, Dr. Stafford saw many of his friends die from mostly preventable causes. These are certainly weighty topics, but the book is also funny and engaging - you won't be able to put it down.

Just to whet your appetite, here is a little vignette from the introduction:

Late one evening D.L. Moody, the premier American evangelist of the 1800s, arrived home from speaking at a meeting. Emma, his wife, was already asleep. As her exhuasted husband climbed into bed, she rolled over and murmured, "So how did it go tonight?"

"Pretty well," he replied. "Two and a half converts."

His wife lay silently for a moment pondering this response, then finally smiled. "That's sweet," she replied. "How old was the child?"

"No, no, no," Moody answered. "It was two children and one adult! The children have their whole lives in front of them. The adult's life is already half-gone." Ponder that one for a moment.

I am also currently reading another highly challenging book for my small group women's Bible study.

This book is also hard to read because it forces me to think about things I would rather not think about, like the fact that every day 30,000 children die from mostly preventable causes, like hunger. Or the fact that a third of the world's population lives on less than $1 a day, and another third lives on less than $2 a day. Those are not pleasant, happy thoughts. It is easier to push them from our minds and go back to our comfortable lives. But I know that is not what Jesus would have us do. We are all incredibly wealthy and have so much to give, and our greatest offering to a hurting world is the love of our Savior and the hope that comes through Him. It's not a happy thought that children all over the world (and even in our own country) are dying needlessly. Instead of shutting our mind to the reality, though, let's pray for the Lord to give us courage and love and to help us do something about it.

Looking for Christmas gifts? Here are a few great ideas with lasting worth:

• Sponsor a child through Compassion International: click here
  
• Help a child learn to read and write, help save the lives of mothers and babies, supply a community with clean water, and much more through Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalog: click here
• Give gifts to help families, missionaries, and communities - gifts as small as $11 for a pair of chickens for a needy family through Gospel for Asia: click here

**Note: Not sure you trust donating to these groups? Check out how they, and other ministries you support, rate at Charity Navigator.

Jesus calls us to not turn a blind eye to those in need. From Matthew 25:

⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

What a sobering thought...