Thy Kingdom Come

Patrick McDonald, founding director of Viva Network, relates the poignant particulars of an afternoon in a small village in the foothills of the Andes. He had just arrived at Itirapampa, and was discussing with the local pastor the logistic of the mission trips he was coordinating, when in rushed a woman whose “furrowed face” and “stubby fingers” bore testimony to a hard life in these remote parts. In her arms she cradled a baby who was evidently in dire need of immediate medical attention. As the sky overhead darkened with the gathering storm clouds, amid the helpless wailing of the woman, the pastor prayed while Patrick “stood there in the back” wanting to do something yet not able to. It wasn’t long before the child stopped breathing and the lifeless arm fell to the sides. The child probably had died because of diarrhea from drinking polluted water.

This is not a stray incident rather it is a reality that many wake up to every single day. Just yesterday I was reading a news article beneath a heartrending picture of a toddler with a nearly empty bowl in her tiny grasp. The World Food Programme is to close twelve of its feeding centres in Somalia and in neighbouring Kenya. Other countries like Ethiopia and Uganda are restricting their services on account of lack of funds. Undoubtedly, the ones who would be most affected would be countless scores of children. My husband and I received an email from a Christian organization asking that we partner with them in their providing for impoverished children in just one neighbourhood in Ethiopia. It was deeply disheartening to learn that they needed eighty thousand dollars for this year and they were able to raise just fifteen thousand.

Of the many woes that plague the world around us what has been brought to attention here is the fate of children. Patrick McDonald writes that nearly 26,600 children die everyday from preventable diseases or hunger. Why are children at such peril when there are so many of us Christ followers around? It is an uncomfortable and difficult question to find answers for. I can’t help but wonder that a lot has to do with our eschatological stance.

One might wonder how ones view of the end time would affect his/her present Christian responsibility. In my opinion it does influence and shape the direction not only of our thoughts but also of our actions. If we believe even as we wait for His second coming that Christ’s Kingdom is here, in “the now,” because of His glorious death and resurrection and is not some distant event far away in the future we would strive more diligently for the perfect cause of the Kingdom; which along with the salvation of souls is also the alleviation of temporal sufferings of folk; that includes provision of the means of sustenance - food and shelter; medicines and even means and equipment for accessing clean drinking water. Let us not be dulled by a pessimistic gloom that dictates the belief that things would remain as they are, if not worsen before the millennium of Christ’s rule. For His kingdom is here within us and without and we are called not just to pray that His will be done here on earth as it is heaven, but we are also called to work tirelessly toward that end, with His abounding grace.

To echo Patrick McDonald’s sentiments, equipping a church in a remote location with a “first-aid cupboard full of anti-diarrhea and other medicines,” or better still finding a way whereby they would have clean drinking water; partnering with organizations like World Food Programme or even writing a cheque to All God’s Children “would not require us to re-mortgage our homes or complete PhDs – it just has to be done. For pity’s sake, let’s get it done!”