EARTHLY DESERTION TO ETERNAL DEFENCE
God’s Plan To Rescue Orphans.
In 2004, Nicole and I were able to travel to Peru and spend a month there. For the first week of our trip we stayed with a missionary family, serving in a desolate district located outside of Lima, known as Cieneguilla.
The missionaries were building an orphanage in this district, and Nicole and I were able to help with some sanding and painting.
In 2005 I was able to return, leading a small group of Bible College students. The main level of the orphanage had been completed and that year, the “New Life Children’s Home” had opened its doors. It was on this trip that I met two little boys:
Christian & Anthony
Because of the extensive poverty in Cieneguilla and lack of birth control due to religious and cultural reasons, parents often find themselves with too many mouths to feed.
Though it’s impossible for us to comprehend, many children are abandoned and deserted, simply because their parents can’t feed or clothe them.
Though you would never expect in such a desolate environment, but the Lurin River actually runs through the middle of Cieneguilla and flows out into the Pacific Ocean.
And it’s difficult to stomach, but one of the ways that children are often deserted is as infants, thrown into the River and washed out to sea. This is why the work of the New Life Children’s Home is so important.
Infants Deserted
This is why Christian and Anthony were at such a disadvantage from the get-go.
When a woman from Cieneguilla finds out she’s pregnant it can be bad news, depending on her financial situation. But when a woman from Cieneguilla is pregnant with twins; she is faced with a significant challenge.
And so, Christian and Anthony were in fact, deserted by their mother.
Thankfully, these two boys were rescued!
And because of that rescue, these two boys grew up in a loving environment, hearing Bible stories taught day in and day out.
Moreover, in preparation for this message, I reached out to the orphanage over Facebook and I found out that a loving couple from Lima had adopted Christian and Anthony a few years ago.
You see, even though these twins were deserted and perhaps because they were deserted, God had set a plan in motion to rescue and protect these two little boys (and many like them).
God Had a Plan
God had sent a missionary to serve in Cieneguilla. God had led that missionary to build an orphanage, with a vision to save deserted infants. God had a plan to defend these two little boys before they were ever conceived.
Not only did God raise up a defense for their earthly lives, but God also gave them an opportunity to grow up with the Gospel and receive a defense for their eternal lives.
Christian and Anthony’s story may have started with earthly desertion, but under God’s sovereign, redemptive hand, their story is one of eternal defence.
This Week’s Focus
This week, we’re going to be looking at 2 Timothy 4. We’ll hear Paul speak to his pastoral apprentice, Timothy about a time in His life where he was completely deserted. At a moment where his very life was held in the balance, no one came to his defense.
And yet, God and God alone stood in the gap came to Paul’s defence and rescued him. Moreover, Paul understood that an eternal defense under earthly desertion is what the Christian is called to live for.
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