The email below is from a staff member of Children’s Hope Chest to an online prayer group called iFast58.  As I read it, I was moved to tears and haunted by the question of how I allowed myself to put this in a box and not care for so many years.  I just flat out didn’t care.  That’s the reality, and I’m not going to sugar-coat it.  I knew full well that children like Dima existed, but I never opened myself to any level of personal compassion (that word again) for them.  It is an interesting parallel to the biblical concept that “faith without works is dead”.  I did not really care until AFTER I began to act out of obedience to what I saw in His Word, and my level of care and desire to serve orphans and the very poor has grown exponentially for every small action I take to physically help.  Don’t put off action until you “feel” an emotional call.  God will supply the emotional desire and the joy of doing His will when we act… at least that’s how it worked for me.

As I contemplated the iFast58 request today, my heart was broken. The profile of a young boy named Dima caught my attention. I am not sure why it caught my attention it has been sitting on a credenza in my office for weeks. But today, I began to think about him – how he is a little younger than my son Luke. I thought of how Luke sometimes needs his mom just to hold him or he will just come snuggle with us – Dima does not have that – he is alone. It is easy to dismiss Dima because we don’t know him – he is on the other side of the planet – out of sight and out of mind.
I want you to meet Dima:The is no current information on his parents.

In Russia , when a child is orphaned, they are stigmatized for life. Their options for education, work and a future are very limited. Their suicide rates are high as is their propensity to abuse drugs. Organizationally we have needs but I would prefer that you pray for Dima today. Please pray that he does not feel lonely when he goes to bed at night. Please pray that when he is scared someone will be there to tell him it is ok. Please pray that someone will encourage him and tell him he is special. Please pray that despite his circumstances that he will feel loved and not worthless. Please pray that he would feel the presence of a loving God who wants to him to know that he created him for a purpose.Thanks!

Jim, I truly appreciate your honesty in this post…I have really been struggling with the Lord lately over the lack of compassion/mercy I find in myself. I feel like God is pursuing my heart in this area - your mandate to ACT and then watch God change your feelings reminds me of Matthew 6:19 - ...where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. In Randy Alcorn’s book The Treasure Principle, he argues that if you want your heart to be more tied to God - His kingdom and His purposes - then invest yourself in the things He cares about. Thus, the “treausre principle” - When you give your time, energy, resources to something - you are going to care about what happens! Thanks for the post!!

Thanks… and thank you.  I really like the parallel with the Matthew verse.  That is a twist on the usual way I look at that verse, but it is SO relevant.  I was spending my time and effort trying to get my heart there first.  I just needed to my my physical actions (and finances)line up with God’s (let’s be honest again) very clear instructions.  Sometimes I think I must not be very bright - it just seems so obvious now.