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"Left On The Doorstep"

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"Marvel  not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."  John 3:7.  Just this morning, the Lord so graciously laid this little article upon my heart and it is my most earnest prayer that He will use it to His glory and to a very real and lasting blessing to those who will read it.  You will notice that I have begun it with the verse of scripture found in the gospel of John, chapter 3 and verse 7.  Now, I realize that there may be other scripture that would have fit the theme of this article, but this is the one the Lord used as He began to unfold this article before me.  Just this morning, while I was at work, at 5:20 A.M., the Lord so graciously used me to lead a young man to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  As I was on my way home from work and thinking about the materials I was going to prepare for this man to help him to grow, the Lord helped me to see and realize just how that so many of His dear children are left to the wolves when they first come to know Him.

I'm about to give my age as I tell you that I was born on August the 14th in 1952.  I must admit however, that I don't remember very much about that day.  To be really truthful, I remember absolutely nothing about it.  I don't even know what day of the week it was.  My parents told me that it was that day which I was born and they obtained a Certificate of Birth to show that I was really born.  Well, here I am writing this little article and that is evidence indeed that I truly was born.  When I was born, my parents loved me and they took me in and fed me and cared for me.  They spent countless hours ministering to my needs so that I could grow. 

I will never forget, as long as the Lord allows me to keep my mind, the wonderful experience the Lord so graciously allowed me to witness when my daughter was born.  It was a Monday morning on July the 20th in 1987.  Now, I must admit that I was a bit concerned as to how I would be able to handle this situation as I have a very weak stomach to say the very least.  But to my amazement, through the grace of God, I was able to handle it very well.  In fact, I was the calmest one in the room.  Such a beautiful sight to witness such a miracle.  Friends, I had been around the world several times in my life, but that was the most awesome thing I had ever seen.  When I saw that beautiful little baby, I remembered a poem I heard as a child.  I don't remember all the words to the poem, nor even the title of it.  All I remembered was the words, "Only God can make a tree."  Those words truly are so very true, but only God can make a child.  Some of you may not agree with me about that, but you have the right to be wrong.  God made that birth possible and I was chosen to be one of the parents.  What a blessing indeed, but also, what an awesome responsibility.  My dear wife and I love that little girl as do we her two brothers.  We, as the chosen parents of these children, chosen by God, who made it all possible, are charged with the responsibility of caring for these children and providing for them that they may grow and become whatever God has planned for them.  Though we are not perfect parents, we are the ones God has chosen and it is such a joy, not only to have witnessed the birth, but to watch them grow and to be a part of their lives.  It was God's grace that brought them into this life and by His wonderful grace and mercy He will make them grow.

Sadly though, this is not always the case as we have all heard and read about people leaving little babies on other peoples doorsteps and even in worse places such as trash dumps.  It is from these instances that the Lord has laid the title of this little article upon my heart.  I'm not sure what all goes on in the minds of the people who abandon these little children, but it is for certain that love is not involved.  Some of them leave these little children on the doorstep in hopes that someone else will love them and care for them and help them to grow.  But there are still others who just don't care whether they grow or not.  So tragic, but even though these people who do these things relieve themselves of the feeling of responsibility for that child, they are still held accountable by God who gave them that child to begin with.

Up until now, all the instances that I have spoken of have been physical births where the flesh is born into this world.  In each case, it was God who performed the miracle of allowing the birth and in each case there were those who were chosen to be charged with the responsibility of seeing to it that the child was able to grow.  As I mentioned in the beginning of the article, I was born on August the 14th in 1952.  Now, whether you agree with me or not, that was a miracle.  God knew what He was doing and through His infinite wisdom and mercy He chose for me the best parents I could have ever asked for had I been old enough to ask for some.  But friends, on Friday the 13th of November in 1992 another and even greater miracle took place.  God saved me by His grace in giving to me the faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross for my sins.  What happened that night is that I was born again.  Only this time I was not born of the flesh, but of the Spirit of God.  Now, God could have chosen anybody to lead me to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but in His infinite wisdom and mercy, He chose a man named J. Harold Smith who in my opinion was and is the very best.  A man full of love and compassion.  A man who has taken me under his wing and nourished me and helped me to grow.

The young man I mentioned in the beginning of this little article who the Lord so graciously used me to lead to Jesus was born again.  This time though, he was born of the Spirit of God and not of the flesh.  This birth was just as real as was his first birth.  I was there when it happened and trust me, it indeed was a miracle.  When this young man was born of the flesh, he was a little baby and he had to grow.  He did grow and being born of the flesh he sinned.  He sinned because he was born a sinner.  That's what sinners do, they sin.  But when God saved him, He forgave all his sins and gave to him His Holy Spirit.  Born again.  The man has a new heart, but he is not perfect and he won't be as long as he is trapped in that body of flesh, but with this new heart also comes a renewing of the mind and just like when he was born in the flesh, he must grow.  He has started a new life and a new walk.  To walk indicates to move and that would indicate to go from where a person is now to some other destination.  This young man's old destination was hell, but with this new walk, he now has a new destination which is an eternity in heaven with the Lord.  Now, I am not with him right now, but as far as I know, he is not there yet.  Until he gets there though, he must continue this new walk and all along the way he will have to be growing. 

God's Word says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:"  John 10:27.  That was Jesus speaking of them that have believed on Him.  That's me and that's the man I just told you about and that's everyone who has ever trusted Him as their personal Saviour and Lord.  He called us sheep and said that He is the shepherd.  Now, if you know anything about sheep, you will know that the little baby sheep follow the big sheep.  When God saved me back there on Friday the 13th of November in 1992, I became one of those sheep.  But I was such a little sheep.  God gave me some mighty big sheep to follow for which I am forever so thankful.  Since that time, though I still have a lot of growing to do, by following the big sheep, I have been able to grow.  Likewise, when God so graciously chose me to lead that young man to Him, He charged me with becoming a big sheep to that young man.  Now, I do hope and pray that the Lord will give this young man some other big sheep to follow, but that does not excuse me from my responsibility. 

Just like those who in the flesh have left their children on the doorstep of others and even in worse places, it is truly just as sad or even more so that there are  those who God chooses to be the big sheep to His children of the Spirit who neglect their responsibility and abandon them on someone's doorstep.  Likewise, this does not relieve them of their responsibility and they too will be held accountable for their lack of compassion and love.  Friend, I ask you, are you one of God's sheep?  Are you one of His big sheep?  If so, please realize your responsibility to those who may be suffering growing pains and by all means, if the Lord so graciously uses you to lead some to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, do all that you can to see to it that new child has the opportunity to grow.  Also my friend, if you are one of His little sheep who has been abandoned, please be assured that I would make myself available to help you in any way I can.  I am still growing myself both in being a parent to my own children and in my personal walk with the Lord, but I pray that the Lord will help me to be a help and a blessing to those others who may be in need.  We, as His sheep, are all brothers and sisters and I love each and every one of you as such and we are in this new walk together.  As God's Word says, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and the cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:".  Ephesians 4:13-15.  God bless you!