I read the following article by John Piper this morning on Desiring God. This is not the whole article but it struck me as I have been thinking about such things. In light of the "great" work of things like "American Idol gives back" in which millions of dollars are raised to help the worlds most needy people, I have been wondering about how best to give to the needs of others and this instruction of giving in Jesus' name keeps coming to my mind. I have a lot of excess items from the coupon shopping that I am praying about how to distribute. I really want to be able to,unrestricted, go and give to the needs of the children in my own community and do it in Jesus' name and not the name of the state or even a good organization like feed the children.I just really want to find a way to do it so that the children's needs are met and God gets the Glory for it.I thought this was an interesting short clip of the whole article that I would recommend anyone to go read on the Desiring God web site




Two Utterly Crucial Elements to Caring for Children

Two things are utterly crucial in caring for children. One: is it done in Jesus' name? "Whoever receives one such child in my name . . . " Ministering to children in any way but in the name of Jesus, does not fulfill the will of Jesus. And the second crucial thing in caring for children is that we do it with a longing to experience more of Jesus and more of the One who sent him, God the Father. "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me and whoever receives me receives not me but the One who sent me."

Why does he say this? Why does he bring everything to a focus on God and the value of receiving more of God? Do you ever want to say to Jesus, "Lighten up! Does everything always have to be theological?" The answer is yes, it does. For Jesus everything has to do with God, or it is fundamentally distorted.

How to Serve Children Best and Why

And if someone asks, What about the children? Aren't you supposed to serve the children because of the children? Surely the answer of Jesus here is this: you serve a child best when you receive a child and care for a child and spend time with a child and hold a child NOT in the name of the child, or in the name of mankind or in the name of mercy or in the name of America's future, but in the name of Jesus, the Son of the living God. And you serve children best when you receive a child not merely because your joy is first in the child, but first and finally in God.

Why is this the best way to serve? Because the most important blessing you can give to a child is the all-satisfying centrality of God in life. And, believe me, this is caught more than taught. And that's why you must serve them in this way; you would lead them in this way.