Set Free

how beautiful if this were the cry of ALL of the nations?

So I'm reading this new book called No Longer a Slumdog by K.P. Yohannan. Within the first three pages of the text, I am struck by how incredibly gracious my Father in Heaven has been on my family and me.

K.P. first challenges you to think about how you came to be. Your parents probably planned for you. They probably had a bedroom decorated with your initials and countless little newborn outfits that they planned for you to wear. Most likely, you were delivered in a sterile hospital under trained professionals. You received all the care you needed and then were probably brought to what would now be called home. When you reached school age, your parents probably bought you countless amounts of school supplies. They probably made sure your clothes were clean and ironed, and that you had a ride to school and of course a packed lunch. They count you as a blessing, nothing less. They love you.

Sometimes our eyes are so fixed on ourselves and our petty hardships that we lose perspective on the world and what is happening right now.  To real people. People with names and hearts and feelings that breathe air just like we do every day. People created in God's image, just like us.

Here's an excerpt from the text. Let's get some perspective:

"The tragedy for untold millions of children living today is that they have never had even one of these childhood experiences. Imagine if this was you: Your parents saw your conception as both a blessing and a curse. They knew that in a few years there would be more hands to work, but also that you would put even more strain on the meager food supply. Prenatal care for you was lacking because there were no medical facilities in the remote village or slum where you were born and your parents could not afford to travel away from home to find one.
After a risky home delivery on the dirt floor of the family shack, you were dried off with a dirty rag or an old newspaper; your parents never learned much about sanitation. Your home was made of tarpaulin sheets held up by bamboo sticks. It was pretty crowded with your whole family living in less than 100 square feet of space...
IF through strength and providence you survived the first few years of your life, at age 5 or 6you might be sold by your parents into bonded labor to help secure a little desperately needed money for the family...School? It wasn't even a possibility..."

I can't even imagine a life like that. How blessed I am to not only be given everything that I need, but OPTIONS to what I need and more! How gracious you are Father! Praise You!

My prayer for you is that you would find a way to take part in global missions.  That could mean going overseas, prayer, donating money, etc. Every Christian is called to global missions. Check out the Great Commission if you think I'm wrong (Matthew 28:19) These are people desperate for hope and truth. People who have not had their minds taken over by a false gospel, but rather are completely empty of any at all.

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, 
   because he has anointed me 
   to proclaim good news to the poor. 
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners 
   and recovery of sight for the blind, 
to set the oppressed free"
- Luke 4:18


God Bless the nations.




Leigh Ann