Who Will Tell Them?

When I go home, I know I’ll be loved.

This has always been true. When home was with my parents and brothers in England, Oklahoma, or St. Louis, I was loved. When home became a dorm room at Truman, even then did I know I’d be welcomed and respected by my roommate I was just getting to know. When home was a house with friends–some who held habits far different from my own, yet did everything they could to promote harmony–I was loved. Now I enjoy the peace that envelops my spirit when I return to my apartment, where I know my sweet husband will soon return. And I know without a doubt that I am deeply loved.

The other day I looked into my husband’s eyes and thought, Oh Lord, does everyone know they are this loved?

No, Kath. Not everyone knows. So many do not know.

So who will tell them?

I don’t think I’m any more loved than anyone else. I’m certainly not more deserving of it. The Father loves every one of us as He loves His son Jesus. Since the beginning of earth, one of the primary ways God has provided His love is through people. From His covenant with Abraham to the Levitical laws to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the disciples to today, He has always shown His people how to be a kingdom of priests, a family joining Him in making earth more and more like home.

The problem is that not everyone has found that home yet. Not everyone belongs to a loving community.

We hear this in the clinic from our clients. We see this in the lives of our Pure Freedom students. Some come from healthy families where kindness abounds, but others have never known a home like that. Abuse, neglect, addiction, divorce: each story is unique, but after a while they sound familiar. Not every human being we serve has been made aware that real love is even possible.

This is why Lifeline exists: so that more women learn how to care for themselves and their born and unborn children, more men are empowered to cultivate compassion in their families, more babies have secure arms to be snuggled by, more teens find a refuge from the darkness in our culture, more parents initiate conversations with their teens about real love. Because God’s love fuels volunteers, donors, and prayer teams with the support we need, Lifeline provides our community with the tools to create homes.

And our greatest hope? That more of God’s children would make Him their home, and in turn allow Him to dwell at home in their own hearts.

By Kath Crane