There are many scriptures which share the importance of friends—brothers and sisters in Christ who are willing to grab hold of the rope and care for the needs of others. The scripture passage which vividly demonstrates this message is found in Luke, chapter 5. Scripture reads:
17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.
19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.
20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say
unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.
The friends of the man on the bed made a way for him to get to Jesus for healing. What if they had said they were too busy or the obstacles were too great? What if they had listened to the objections of the crowd. What if they had lacked the courage to go on the roof, remove the tile, and take this man to Jesus? Yes, there were many obstacles, but they would not give up until they found a way to place him at the feet of Jesus.
Each and every day, you are there for our children, lowering the ropes through all the obstacles and placing them at the feet of Jesus. You do that through your prayers, your encouragement, and
through your faithful financial support. This past year you touched the lives of more than 195,000 through the ministries of Baptist Children’s Homes. But the need continues to be overwhelming. As we enter 2022, we know there will be so many others—children and families—who will walk through our doors desperate for help, that will only know the hope and the help and the healing that Christ can give because you cared enough to tackle the obstacles. You determined to grab the rope and carry a child and place them before Christ. This week, I watched this take place at a Christmas party. The gym was full of children running and playing. It was loud!
Laughter rang out and squeals of joy filled the room. Cottage parents filled plates with wonderful treats.
Four young children caught my eye. The older child was very protective of the younger children. When I inquired if they were brothers and sisters, I was told they had recently come into care. They endured four other placements and at times were separated. You cared enough to grab the rope and carry them to a place where they could experience the love and hope they so desperately needed.
I wish you could have been here to see the transformation taking place. I wish you could have heard the squeals of laughter and joy as it filled the space around us. I wish you could have witnessed our staff all around them, loving them and caring for them. In that moment, you were a lifeline lowering the rope of healing. Thank YOU!
You have sustained us through some very challenging times. You have been willing to grab the ropes over and over again. I want to ask you to consider another way to help us grab hold of the ropes to carry children and families to Jesus—not only today, but tomorrow.
I.G. Greer joined the Board of Trustees in 1928 and, four years later, he became superintendent. Greer was one that grabbed the rope tightly to place children at the feet of Jesus on a daily basis. But he also knew the importance of planning for tomorrow. To honor this one who so ably led this ministry and stirred hearts to service, the I.G. Greer Society was formed to recognize individuals, couples, and families who are committed to Sharing Hope...Changing Lives. The society is comprised of those friends who have remembered BCH in their estate plans. These plans include one of the following:
Including BCH in your Will
Developing a life income gift
Giving a gift of life insurance
Establishing an endowment
The only requirement? You only need a concern for vulnerable, marginalized “least of these” children and families and a conviction that BCH can and will be there to grab the ropes, carry them, and place them before Christ.
We are building God’s Kingdom, one vulnerable child, one marginalized family at a time. Whatever your gift, it will bear eternal influence on generations upon generations of children.
Will you continue to travail the obstacles. Will you grab the rope, carry those we serve, and place them at the feet of Jesus—today and tomorrow?
January is Make Your Will Month. If you haven’t already made your Will, or if it is time to update your Will, now is a good time to do so.
For more information on how you can make an eternal difference through your estate planning, head over to www.bchlegacy.org or call Brenda at 336-474-1230.
Written by Brenda Gray, Executive Vice President, Development & Communications