"Excel in this Grace of Giving"
by Joan Minor
UMCH Spiritual Life Coordinator
In 1921, the Orphan's & Children's Home of the Southern Illinois Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church was relocated to its present location in Mt. Vernon after a fire destroyed its building in Creal Springs. Many older folks remember going to visit the orphans, bringing them canned fruits and vegetables, linens, toys and just a cheerful smile and an encouraging word. This generation was taught the importance of community and helping their neighbors, especially the orphans and widows.
By the 1960s, true orphans were nearly unheard of and in their place, sadly, the renamed United Methodist Children’s Home began accepting referrals of physically and sexually abused youth. Now, UMCH is a multi-faceted social service agency serving not only this type of youth, but also over 300 children and families in our local communities. Anyone from a first-time mother to a high-school dropout can receive help at UMCH.
Recently, I was explaining this change in services to a church congregation in a nearby town. When I finished, a woman came up to me and said, “It’s such a shame that things can’t be the way they used to be with the orphans.”
Well, I puzzled over this and thought, “Surely she doesn’t mean she wishes there were still orphans. What could she have possibly have meant by that?” In thinking about this woman’s statement, I realized that what she probably meant is it is a shame that there is so much need for these services. It’s heartbreaking that some parents do not care for their children the way God meant for them to. It’s terrible that we have teenagers having babies before they are ready to be parents. It’s sad that students struggle in schools. It’s hard to accept that some teenagers have nowhere else to go but to a foster family.
What I also realized is this: How wonderful that God has given us the means to help these people. Yes, it’s horrific what happens in some peoples’ lives. But how absolutely blessed we are that God has seen the need and allowed these assistance programs to exist. Not only at UMCH, but at social services all over the region, caring individuals have taken the call to serve God by helping whoever needs the help. We need to pray for those who do God’s work, and we need to prayerfully consider doing even more.
Budget cuts all over the state have left a number of these caring people without jobs. Which in turn means a number of children and families will not be receiving the help they desperately need. It was during a similar time in history when Paul praised the Macedonian churches for their generosity. In 1 Corinthians 8:2-4, Paul wrote, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.”
Imagine that: urgently pleading for the privilege of giving. Paul doesn’t stop there. He goes on to encourage others to do the same in verse seven. “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
Excel in this grace of giving. That is a tall order in tough times. But what better way to honor our Father than to help his children? In the same way Paul did, I urge all of you to prayerfully consider helping. God has given each one of us a heart for something. I have a heart for youth, and I give of my time and tithes to children. What did God give you a heart for? Ask Him. Pray for direction. And when He directs you to help, know that as you give you are storing up your treasures in heaven.