*Warning: Graphic Story*I just finished reading a story on CNN that caused me to weep out loud. A 14 year old girl somehow managed to hide the fact that she was pregnant from her parents. She would later admit that she was scared her pregnancy would have a negative effect on her relationship with her folks. After giving birth to the baby in her bathroom she immediately strangled the baby's neck for 60 seconds. She made sure the baby did not have a pulse. After making sure the baby was dead, she hid the body in her clothes hamper, which her mother later went through and discovered the baby.
My son just turned 4 months old the other day. I never imagined being able to love a child the way that I love my son. He is so beautiful and precious to me and I would do anything for him. I think part of the reason I feel the way I do about Sawyer is because I know that he couldn't make it without his mommy and I. He needs us to survive. While his crying can be difficult and stressful to hear sometimes, I know that many times those cries are his way of saying, "I need you mommy and daddy." Having a baby has warmed my heart in a way I could never have imagined.
When Jesus talked about caring for "the least of these," I think he was talking about a wide range of people: the lonely, the imprisoned, the hungry, the naked, the mocked, the helpless, the widow, the helpless child, the enslaved, the forgotten, the newborn, and so on. To faithfully follow after Jesus requires that we willingly and continually sacrifice for 'the least.' To follow in the footsteps of Jesus is to sacrifice and confess, "my life is not my own." And I believe I shed tears for this newborn baby for a few reasons: First, every little baby deserves to have at least one parent that would march through hell and back on their behalf. My heart breaks for this helpless creation of God who was subjected to awful suffering for its short little life. Secondly, as I read this story I am reminded of my own sin. While I've never made it on CNN for the things I've done, I know that I turn my back to 'the least' in less noticeable and less obvious ways through how I spend my money, how I spend my time, things I do and don't do, etc. And finally, I weep because I know we serve a God whose loves his creation far more than I do and I know his heart breaks when he sees those whom he loves suffer, especially the helpless... And the only prayer that I find to be appropriate when I hear stories like this and have an awareness of my own sin is, "Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us."
If you call/consider yourself to be a Christian, let me ask you this: In what ways does following Jesus cause you to sacrifice your own comfort and well-being for the sake of others? Does following Jesus cost you anything? It should.
May our hearts continue to break on behalf of 'the least' and may we respond faithfully.
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