Corey's Corner
Martin Corey, Open Arms Executive Director

Greetings from the Open Arms staff and children! My prayer is that this writing find you and your family doing well and continuing to champion Christ and His love. I wish we could sit down face to face with a glass of tea and get acquainted but I guess this article will have to suffice for today (If you would like to set up a time to me for that glass of tea, click here!). As most of you may know, Ken Mulpas, accepted a ministry at a Church in Ohio. We wish him well and pray for God’s blessings upon Him. The board of directors at Open Arms has asked that I assume the position of Director of OACM. I am excited to serve the Lord in this capacity as I continue to have a heart for loving all God’s children.

I believe all children are gifts from God. Children must have a special place in God’s heart for He sent Jesus to the Earth as a baby and then as Christ become a man He spoke about children with great love. This is a sharp contrast to many things we witness happening in today’s society. Everyday these gifts from God are being aborted in large numbers. The number of abortions a day in the U.S. is 3,700 according to the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. The Guttmacher Institute reports that in 2005 there were 11,150 abortions in Indiana alone during 2005. Then we hear about the abuse and neglect happening in homes across our country. In Indiana each year there are nearly 20,000 children abused and neglected by their parents. That breaks down to 442 kids a week or 63 kids every day that feel this pain.

Every day there are more than 10,000 children living outside their homes in foster homes, residential facilities, shelters and other state funded Facilities. The impact on these children is huge as many of them that have experienced severe abuse display behaviors that receive the labels of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ADHD, and many more. These are God’s children and He loves them dearly.

I want to draw your attention away from the negative statistics and picture of these children that are suffering to more positive words of Christ about children. The first place is in Mark 9:33-37. They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them. "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." (NIV)

These disciples are focused on themselves and how they measured up in the kingdom of God. It is evident that Jesus knew their hearts and He addresses the issue by basically telling them to serve. Christ goes on to illustrate how they should serve. He takes this child in His arms, and I believe He cuddled the child, to demonstrate how we are to love, to welcome a child. He then equates the love and welcoming of a child to loving and welcoming Him.

The second passage is in the next chapter of Mark. Chapter 10: 13 – 16 says: People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. (NIV)

Here we notice that the disciples felt the children were a bother or distraction for Jesus. Christ was angry at the attitude of the disciples that the children were not as important as other matters Jesus needed to attend to. Christ then elevates the status of importance with children saying; “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."  Christ then proceeded to take the child in His arms much like He did in chapter nine.

At OACM we are all about children. We want to love them, welcome them, and elevate them just as Christ does. These children have suffered pain, we want to take them in our arms to show them love. These children have known great hunger, we want to feed their tummy’s and feed them the Word of God. These children have suffered from educational neglect, we want to stimulate their minds with reading, writing, math and most of all a knowledge of Christ’s love.

I am a bottom line type person so here is how you can join with us, to partner with us to make all this happen and more. Talk with your brother’s and sister’s at the congregation you serve to request that they join with us in prayer about the needs of these children in our back yard. These children are literally your neighbors that live in your county and just down the street. Prayer is the beginning and best way we can care for these children and their families. We also need individuals and Churches that see the need as Christ does and are willing to commit financially to meet the physical, emotional, educational and spiritual deficits each child arrives at OACM with. Please pray with us and join us in loving God and our neighbor.