June 5, 2008
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Orphanage Ministry – The Needs of the Kids…
The other day I wrote out “The Need” part to the website for the orphanage ministry I am directing here in Seoul… www.jerusalemministry.org. I emphasized how committed, loving relationships are so critical for these children. That more than food, clothes, money, or even education, what the kids need is love.
As I looked over what I had written, I couldn’t help but think, “I haven’t included a single word about salvation or evangelism in any of this. Our ministry is a Christian ministry and so shouldn’t there be more of a missions evangelistic purpose to it?” But then I felt God reassure me that before these kids can be approached with the 4 spiritual laws or put their trust in God, they first need to receive the loving touch from Him. That I can’t preach to some girl about a loving Father and tell her to put her trust in Him when the only father she has known has abused her and then abandoned her. First she needs to receive a touch of His love before she can open her heart to Him.
My friend Ruda shared this with me today… in Mark 1:40 a man covered with leprosy fell to the ground before Jesus and begged Jesus to heal him.
Mark 1:41-42 – Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
Before Jesus pronounced the man’s healing and cleansing, He first reached out and did what no other person would do… He touched the man with leprosy. The man had been devoid of such touch ever since he contracted the disease. In many other instances of healing it was the touch of Jesus that helped rid the person of their disease. It is this same touch that our orphanage ministry hopes to provide for the children. To love them and reach out to them, just as Christ would.
