Matthew 17:14-18 NLT “At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water…Jesus said… ‘Bring the boy here to Me.’ Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.”
This boy is in a seemingly impossible situation. He is suffering from a problem that he can’t fix. He's hurting, but not because of anything he did wrong. His situation is similar to the many children who come through our Resource Center. Children in our community come into the Foster Care system everyday. They are suffering from physical, emotional and sexual abuse for no fault of their own.
Just as the father in the story sought help for his son…at PS I Love You, we are called to play a part in helping hurting foster children. In the story, Jesus healed the little boy from his suffering. In our community, we are to show the love of Christ to the hurting children in foster care by providing help through the basic needs and necessities of life.
I met Benny many years ago at a monthly DSS foster parent meeting. He was a 10 year old little boy that would run up to me, grab my legs and not let go. His huge smile looked so happy but his big brown eyes carried the depth of his pain and devastating childhood. He was the victim of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in both his biological and adoptive family. His suffering was not his fault. Children in foster care can’t help themselves. And we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus and offer hope and healing to God’s kids.
James 1:27 has a clear mandate to all believers, “Pure and faultless religion is this to look after orphans and widows in their distress.”
