58
christian counseling today
Vol. 20 no. 2
R
ecently, my wife, Beverley,
and I were seated in a small
restaurant when a young fam-
ily walked in—the mother
and father, a five or six-year-old boy, and
a baby carriage. Naturally, I thought the
carriage held a small infant. However, as
they passed our table, I noticed the child
was not a baby, but a severely disadvan-
taged older son who could not care for
himself and was totally dependent on
someone else for his survival.
The moment was so shocking to
me that I could not finish my meal. I
literally had to leave the restaurant. I
have been thinking of that family ever
since. Why? Not so much because of my
own discomfort, but for that household
whose lives will never be normal as long
as that child lives. Yet, I know there are
multiplied thousands of homes who
love children with disabilities and other
challenges, but it does not make their
journey any easier or, to be honest, my
ability to relate to their circumstances.
Yet, the more I think about it, I have to
ask myself, “Do these helpless children
not belong to all of us?”
They are All Our Children
Some years ago, I read a story told by
former Georgia Senator, Sam Nunn,
about a little girl who was shot by a
sniper during the terrible conflict in
Bosnia. A reporter was watching as the
girl went down and hurried to assist
a man who was holding her. They all
loaded into the reporter’s car and hurried
off to the hospital. As they drove, the
frantic man holding the bleeding girl
pleaded with the driver to hurry. “The
child is still alive,” he cried. Then,
“The child is still breathing,” and now,
“Hurry, please, she is getting colder.”
When they arrived at the hospital,
the little girl had died. As the two men
were washing the blood from their
hands, the man turned to the reporter
and said, “This is terrible for me, for
I must go tell her father that his child
is dead. He will be heartbroken.” The
amazed reporter looked at the grieving
man and said, “I thought she was your
child?” The man looked down wiping
his tear-stained face and said, “No, but
aren’t they all our children?”
I was not there, but it is said that
Senator Nunn reminded his listeners,
“Yes, they are all our children. They
are also God’s children as well, and He
has entrusted us with their care, not just
in Sarajevo, but wherever they may be
found.” I wonder if we really believe that.
The Secret to
Loving the Unlovable
I am not sure this next little verse of song
is even politically correct anymore, but
can you remember in Sunday school
how we used to sing, “Jesus loves the
little children, all the children of the
world. Red and yellow, black and white,
they are precious in His sight, Jesus
loves the little children of the world?”
And so He does, and so should we…
but at times, the responsibility becomes
too great, too formidable, too time-
consuming and, like it was for me, very
intimidating.
If you think about it, the love God
has for His children is not conditional.
It means, as is said, “All the children of
the world”… even if they are unaware
of that monumental affection. John’s
first Epistle is filled with those kinds of
reminders:
n
“…We should love one another”
(3:11)
.
n
“This is how we know what love is:
Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
Aren’t They All Our Children?
«
H.B . London, Jr ., D.D.
the word applied
