"No Child Left Behind"

We are God’s children and he cares for us, one and all. It is the Father’s will that we all be saved, and that none would perish. Therefore, to the alcoholic he writes; "Wine is a mocker and strong drinks raging, he/she that is deceived thereby is not wise."

To the murderer he writes; " Thou shalt not kill. No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." To the lonely he writes; "Lo, I am with thee even to the end of the world." To the downtrodden he writes; " I will never leave you nor forsake you."

To the out cast he writes; "I’m a friend who sticks closer than a brother." To the worried he writes: "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give thee rest."

To the depressed he writes; "Lift up your heads and the king of glory shall come in."

To the sick he writes; "I was wounded for your transgressions ( outward sins) bruised for your iniquities (inward or secret sins) the chastisement of your peace ( whatever is necessary for you to enjoy peace was put upon me) and with his stripes ye were (past tense ) healed. To the dying he writes; "Come, inherit the kingdom that was prepared for thee before the worlds were formed." To the believer he writes; "Hold fast to that which thou hast and let no man take thy crown."

When President Bush issued the moratorium declaring that "no child would be left behind," he had no idea of the controversy that would occur. While the views of people regarding the premise behind the theme differ immensely, it is the desire of parents and educators alike that our children excel in every area. The president and the school officials are not the first ones upholding this view, but it has its roots in much deeper soil. During one of Jesus’ teaching sessions, some of the mothers came and brought their little ones to Jesus. The disciples responded with rejection by telling the mothers to take the children away because Jesus was busy, and did not have time for them. Sorely displeased, Jesus said to the twelve, "Let the children come to me and forbid them not for such is the kingdom of heaven.

In essence, Jesus was saying to them, "If you want to know what the kingdom of heaven is like, look around you. After the disciples brought the children to Jesus, he took them up in his arms and blessed them.

People, just like those children, Jesus longs to take us in his arms and bless us. All that he asks is for us to yield our lives over to Him.

I visited a drug rehab center recently, and I can truly say that if no child is going to left behind, we had better get busy and spread the good news of Jesus to the lost . My partner and I encountered a homeless man walking the streets while we were there, and the young man asked for some change. We didn’t have any change to give the young man, but we did witness to him and offer him a way out of his situation. While standing there, I immediately thought about the incident when the disciples were approached by the lame man asking alms. Their reply to him, "Silver and gold have I none but such as I have, give I to thee, in the name of Jesus rise up and walk." In order for the lame man to receive help, he had to rise up from his physical and emotionally dependent state.

My dear friends, we cannot get to where Jesus desires us to be without rising up out of our circumstances. If we are to live, we must do as he instructed the Israelites; we must look up.

It doesn’t matter what side of the tracks you are from nor how many times you have messed things up, God’s grace ( something we cannot earn nor deserve) is sufficient (available and capable of fulfillment) for you.

After talking to some of the young men at the shelter, I quickly realized that those people have either forgotten, or have not been introduced to the unconditional love of God. Standing there, I understand what the writer meant when he declared that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. I can attest that this is true because I have encountered enough lost souls in the past two days to keep us busy for a while, not to mention the many hurting people around the world. So our prayer must be directed to the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into this vineyard. Trust me, we need them.

There are so many people walking around without a purpose. My belief is, if we can reach just one, heaven rejoices. According to the scripture, "God’s will is that none would be lost. Simply stated, he doesn’t want "any child left behind." He made this possible through the shed blood of his only Son.

I am a fan of the underdog. For as long as I can remember, I have supported those individuals that society rejects. It is no surprise that I would be involved in ministry. Apparently God cares for the underdog also, which can be seen in the story of the Samaritan woman, the woman caught in adultery, the man at the gate, Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, David before becoming king, Elijah on Mt. Carmel, the woman with the blood disorder, and Jairus whose daughter was in need of healing.

Our job is to help the hurting. I remember so many times when I was growing up in the church I would wonder why they would escort the alcoholic and the homeless out the door. My question to the religious church going people is, "Isn’t the church where these poor people belong? People, we are leaving a mission on our way to a mission.

Jesus declares for as much as we aid the least of these, we do it unto Him. Our Lord came for the lost sheep of the House of Israel. In the disguise of doing God’s will, we are falling short. We seek the blessings of God, but at the same time we are overlooking the misfortunate. As people of God, our behavior must imitate our Father.

We, too, must love and care for people irrespective of color, creed, and socioeconomic status. The hungry, hurting, naked, addict, prostitute, and drug dealers make up the audience we should be witnessing to. I am seeking God for a bold spirit to proclaim his righteousness in any audience fearlessly. I, too, want to insure that no one will be left behind.

As I study the scriptures, I realize why Jesus met so much opposition from the church people. He did so because he exposed their wickedness, and their partiality. They only wanted to help certain people.

Our God is the God of all flesh. David declared in Psalms 24:1 that the earth was God’s and its fullness. We all belong to God and we, like He, must assure that everyone has a place and knows that there is a way out of a life of sin.

We had better get to work because "No Child Can Be Left Behind."

Travestine Wright.