Help Others on Their Journey
Today's Scripture: Proverbs 22:8
David Burch is a director of community-based services for Missouri Baptist Children’s Home.
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For the past three years, I have had the honor to go on a journey with children as pastor at an annual summer camp for children the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home serves, children residing in our group home campuses or specialized Therapeutic Family Foster Care homes. These children have endured abusive or neglectful environments that have significantly impacted how they see life.
Like all children, they have a God-given longing to be loved, nurtured and protected. I have had the blessing of sharing Christ and the truth of Scripture that God desires to bring healing and restoration and see them find freedom in Christ.
God has allowed me the blessing of hearing their stories. One summer, a young man nearly knocked me over after a service when he ran up and said, “I grew up in a home where my father abused me horribly, and all my life I have been so full of hatred. Tonight I have decided to begin the process of forgiving my father and asking God to set me free from this anger.”
A 14-year-old young lady handed me a thank-you card that simply said, “Thanks for sharing the truth with me; tonight I gave my life to Christ.”
I listened as a young lady said, “Horrible people did horrible things to me and at times I find myself wanting to hurt them like they hurt me. I just have one question: Can Jesus really set me free?” The answer, of course, is: Yes, Jesus really can set us free, no matter where life’s journeys may have taken us.
Along all our journeys, God desires us to nurture children and provide them a Christ-like model for life. The simple investment of loving and nurturing a child always has a positive impact.
