1 Corinthians 4
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April 12, 2010
Mike
1 Corinthians 4
EARS TO HEAR is the radio ministry of FAMILIES. BY GOD. For EARS TO HEAR, here’s Tim Glisson.
Mike was three years old when a child protective worker found he and his five year old sister alone in an inner-city apartment. The one room flat was notable only for its strewn debris and awful stench.
In the twelve years since, Mike has lived in 8 different foster homes and two residential treatment facilities.
In a couple of years Mike will “age out” of foster care. With few skills, less motivation and virtually no support, his prospects will be poor. In fact, Mike and the 30 thousand teenagers just like him around the country are already being called the next wave of the homeless.
With so many facing such dismal futures it’s common to point a finger of blame at the government which essentially raised Mike and the others. That would be wrong. It should surprise no one that government can’t raise children, that’s the families job. And when the family breaks down, it’s the church’s.
Mike isn’t merely one of the orphans that God’s heart aches for; he’s also a stranger that God so much wants US to protect.
In first Corinthians chapter 4, Paul raises the question: are we using the gifts God gave us to further His kingdom, or for our own pleasure?
Teenaged orphans need you to show them God just as much as infant ones do.
If you have EARS TO HEAR the cry of the fatherless please visit our website at FAMILIESBYGOD.org. For EARS TO HEAR, I’m Tim Glisson.
