Love Makes the Difference

After church yesterday, my wife Laura and I went to a high tea put on by the Pyjama Angel Foundation.  For over a year now I have been a volunteer with the Foundation, committing to one hour of reading and playing educational games with a child in foster care a week.  It is really a terrific organisation that seeks to meet the needs of an ever growing number of children in foster care.  We had a good time chatting with other volunteers and enjoyed a musical performance by the Lane Cove Orchestra.

The founder of the Pyjama Angel Foundation spoke about the importance of education for the children in foster care, as statistics show they are at a high risk of dropping out of school and committing crimes as juveniles and adults.  The simple act of spending time with undivided attention for each child conveys a sense of value and security.  Literacy and education, she said, were keys to giving kids in care the opportunity to progress and develop in their studies and life.

As I looked over the group of people listening to Mrs. Sheehan, I thought about what she said.  I agree completely with the vision and purpose of the Pyjama Angel Foundation.  But I do not believe education is the answer to the problems children in foster care face.  They need the same thing that all people crave:  love.  If I try to "educate" without love, it profits very little.  When you love a child unconditionally, what you say now becomes important.  Knowledge and facts have their place, but they are no substitute for love.  If a child knows he is truly loved, his trust will begin to grow.  He may still have baggage, issues, and struggles.  He may not seem to get out what you are putting in.  But it is your love he will cherish and remember, even when he is old - not the English facts you skillfully present.  It is love that will transform a life.

When I think back to all my years in school, I learned many things.  But it is easier for me to remember the faces and names of my teachers and professors than what they actually taught me.  The teachers which made the biggest difference in my life were the ones who impacted me by touching my heart.  It was their love of kids and the love of teaching that came through.  It is love that mades the difference.  Jesus Christ did not come to earth as the Master Teacher, though He is unrivaled as far as good teachers go.  He came and demonstrated His love for all people.  He went to the sick and healed them.  He fed the hungry and taught the multitudes.  Jesus took babies and children in His arms and blessed them.  Those same hands were nailed to a cross:  Jesus laid down His life as a payment for sin so all who repent and trust in Him can be born again and become children of God.  Romans 5:8 reads, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Plenty of men were crucified by the Romans, but the death of Jesus Christ was different.

What does this teach us?  It is love that makes the difference.