Be.Loved. 25 Simple Acts of Love to Change a LifeSample

DAY 22: Donate a toy to a child in need

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” – James 2:14-17

According to an Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System report, over 437,000 children are in the foster care system in the U.S. today. If you think that number is staggering, according to a joint World Bank Group and UNICEF study, nearly 385 million children live in extreme poverty in our world today. 

Stop for a minute and consider these numbers. 

Vulnerable children, through no fault of their own, have been placed in situations anathema to the kingdom of God, which cries out for all to be in families (Ps. 68:6a). 

With so many in distress, it is easy for us to enter into a sort of ‘compassion fatigue,’ and thus be so overwhelmed with the needs that we are either (1) left feeling like our simple acts of love don’t matter, or (2) left feeling hopeless and turn the proverbial blind eye to all those in need. 

May it not be so! Every single act of love matters to God and to the one who receives it. Those who sponsor a Compassion International child know that there are millions more, but the occasional letters from one’s sponsored child remind that family that their simple act of love matters to that one child, and may, in fact, cause a positive ripple effect in that community for decades to come.

Today, instead of turning away from, turn towards the needs of so many vulnerable and helpless children. Call them beloved through words and deeds. Donate a toy to a local shelter, children’s hospital, adoption agency, or domestic violence center. Or go online and research organizations where you can read to, become a pen pal of, tutor, or mentor children.

Reflect on how you felt doing this, what God did in your heart, and how you can make reaching out to children in need a regular part of your life.