Not What We Own
/Recently, Reece, a member of our student ministry, was awakened to a need near to him. Reece understands the life of a child in the foster care system and the struggles that they face firsthand, having been part of the system from years 2-4 of his life. Struggles like stability, ownership, and permanent unconditional love circle his heart. He also is understanding more and more each day the beauty of adoption and how our worth lies in who calls us His own.
Ownership and possession can be confusing to comprehend for a child - but what they can understand is that other children around them have toys that they call their own, and Reece did not. When he came home to his adoptive family, they bought him his own toys - that’s a big deal for a 4-year-old. Not because of the material toys themselves, but because of what they represented. No more transition from family-to-family, no more waking up in new homes surrounded by new people, no more transience. He now had solidarity, ownership, and stability.
Not long ago, the Life Task Force team at Church at the Cross, and specifically the Foster Care and Adoption branch hosted a toy drive in our church parking lot. Reece heard about the upcoming drive and started to feel the tug on his heart; this is an area he desired to make a difference in.
“My mom told me that I had a chance to share some of my toys with kids in foster care.” Reece had a pair of skates that he dearly loved. This was a possession that meant a great deal to him, it was something he owned. This is the item that the Holy Spirit honed in on, possibly the greatest sacrifice for Reece at the time.
“The Holy Spirit moved in me and told me to love others because I was once like them in foster care. I feel happy to have an opportunity to share my toys with other kids who don't have any, and I want to make other kids happy.”
Reece was able to look past his prized possession, and look forward with a mind on eternity. It isn't about what material things we possess, it is about who possesses our hearts. He knew that sharing this toy with a foster child could show them that they are loved regardless of what they own.
“Jesus loves us and he made us all important in His image. When I think about this I want other people to hear it, because it's true.”
God adopts his people into his heavenly family to experience his unending, unconditional love. He calls them his children, his possessions. “God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory…. So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.” (Hebrews 2:10-11 NLT) Reece knew a way to share that love, to point someone to Christ’s sacrifice, was to give something away that was dear to him. This item that he loved temporarily has the potential to lead to someone being loved eternally and that was worth the sacrifice.