The Church

Every time you pray. Every time you do something or say something in the name of Christ for someone else. Every time you choose to show love in the face of evil and despair, you strengthen the forces of good against the forces of evil.

Obviously, something happened to change my life significantly but for a while, I was among the many raised in church, exposed to the teachings of Jesus but chose to stay away. “I believed in God but didn’t feel any need to be in church.”

I don’t know the story behind each person waiting at our border hoping to have a better, safer, happier life or to provide a better life for their children here in the United States. But I do know it was a dangerous journey to get there and they need help while they wait for their turn to enter and be reunited with family members and/or sponsors who are in the United States. Most of the men have had their shoelaces and belts taken away from them. The women often arrive with no panties. Many have survived assaults and had their possessions stolen on the way.

So, the main characters are an old man with visions of impossible dreams pledging his undying love to a woman who once had big dreams but settled for much less. Two depressing answers to the question: “What happens to our big dreams?” For some the answer is “mission accomplished” and they are living the dream now. For others, big dreams were compromised by the oftentimes harsh reality of daily living.

So, how should we respond to those in need? One reaction would be to ignore them. After all, you didn’t cause their problems. A better response would be to pray and hope their situation will improve. You could send a check or volunteer with a group involved in helping others. All appropriate but as disciples of Jesus Christ, we are challenged to “do more” through the love and grace of almighty God.