A Broken System - Part Two

This 13 year old boy I mentioned in the first post is just one of the many children who desperately need us. He is a real child who has been forced to grow up too fast. Instead of being carefree he has learned to manipulate to get what he wants. It is key for his survival and he is good at it. He has also learned how to throw a super sized scary tantrum that requires police assistance. This should not be!

I have seen this kid thrive in a loving home. I have seen him full of joy. "Professionals" want to diagnose him with some disorder and medicate him. I see deeper into his heart. All of our hearts desire to be loved. Instead he has been shifted from home to home. He has been passed by and labeled. He has been let down by a system who holds up too much red tape making it impossible for one family who loves him to intervene.

This kid has experienced hunger, abuse, horrible things many cannot even fathom. He is much too young for this. Of course he is a handful. No one has taken the time to give him stability continually. Though the home he was in was not safe for kids, he is still no better off in "the system".

So what do we do about this? It certainly is much easier to just turn our heads. It is easier to let someone else handle things. Yet I do not think this is the solution at all. I believe if everyone did something by investing in one family things could change. These people do not need more advice or hand outs. The "system" is filled with those. These families need someone who is willing to walk this path with them. This family needs someone who will encourage them along the way. This does not come in the form of hand outs or platitudes, it come through long term commitment with people. It comes through friendship and community.

We are all broken. Sin has done that. Yet we are restored in Christ alone. We all need Him. Christ is the one who reconciles all things. We are to be His ambassadors calling others to reconciliation. This will look differently in individual situations. But reconciliation is the key. It is best. This happens when you walk with someone. When you take the time to assess the real root problem they are struggling with that got them into the situation they are in. It is never a superiority thing. We must remember we are all broken in some ways.

I cannot imagine losing everything I had by disaster or fault of my own but it could happen. However, I have support through people. God calls us to live in community with others. I would have somewhere to go. I would have people to walk with me. They would help me get back on my feet again. When people lack this type of community we need to be this for them.

I will stop here because this will be a series of posts. Again there is no solid one way solution to this. It is messy business when you get involved in people's lives. It will not be too long before something uncomfortable comes up in the best of relationships. We need to be willing to give our lives to those around us. We do this by helping to restore and reconcile things. Again, we will look deeper at this in more posts. Also for true reconciliation to really take place we all need Jesus, the reconciler of all things.

Please share your thoughts I am pondering all of this and would love some of your thoughts!