Philippians 2:5-7 (ESV)
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Haitian school children must pay to go to school. Each year each family in the world’s poorest nation pays the teacher directly a full year’s tuition before the student can attend. Then they have to buy books, all their school supplies (none are provided) and mandatory school uniforms. Tuition is the greatest obstacle. I’ve met 20-yearolds who can’t finish high school because they cannot afford the tuition.
“So what’s the big deal?” you might ask. We all know families for whom tuition is a major issue. It was a major issue for me as I worked myself through school years ago. The big deal, as I see it, is this. I know of 50 elementary-age students who will not be in school this year because their families cannot pay the $43 tuition.
That’s right. $43. Their families have to choose between feeding themselves and educating their children, and surviving wins out. The children do not go to school for lack of $43.
This particularly impresses me this morning because I just got the bill for my homeowners insurance yesterday. And recently I got the notice for the proposed property tax. And I was struck this morning with the thought of how much it costs me to own my stuff. Not only is there the initial cost to gain possession, but there are the ongoing costs to maintain possession. And I’m wondering what I could do if I got rid of stuff and used maintenance money to help Haitian children go to school. I could send all 50 of those students to school for a year for the combined costs of property taxes and insurance.
And then I’m impressed with what Jesus did for us. In order for us to be reconciled to God our Creator, Jesus gave up everything he had to pay the price we could not pay. Our sin saddles us with an unpayable debt. Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be held on to, made himself nothing—he gave up everything—to take on human form and die on the cross in our place. He gave up all he had to “pay our tuition so we could go to school.” He paid our debt so we can spend eternity with God in heaven.
That’s Good News, what Jesus did. But let’s go a step farther, just this once, shall we? Let’s not stop at simply acknowledging that God does good work that results in Good News. How about, just this once, we join in and be the Good News?
I’m choosing five Haitian school children. You may have some other avenue in mind. Farm animals for poor farmers. Water wells for arid villages. Some other possibility. Let’s think about stuff we can get rid of and use that money to demonstrate the Good News in someone’s life.
I guarantee you, that would be Good News!
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This week our contributor is Pastor Dale McIntire who has served as pastor of the Cornerstone Community Church in Grand Marais since April of 1995.
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