the heart of children
/
by Chaquana Townsend
As I live, labor, minister, and work alongside the children at Common Ground Montgomery, I am convinced of two things: God is using them to expose the sin in my own heart, and He is constantly showing me my desperate need of a Savior. At the core of our very beings, we are unmistakably sinful.
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12).
Due to Adam and Eve’s disobedience, sin and death have plagued mankind and continue to. With that being said, we have to come face to face with how wicked we truly are.
Anyone who works with children can see one obvious thing: children are disobedient. Children have to be told things over and over again. I vividly remember on more than one occasion giving a lecture to the 1st through 5th grade students about keeping their hands to themselves and the consequences of hitting others. As soon as I was done, I watched as children continued to hit and push each other. I was upset, frustrated, and completely blown away at the blatant disregard of what I just said. However, the Lord used instances like that and many others to show me how my heart is just like the heart of a child. I am disobedient and have to be reminded of God’s truth constantly.
The Lord uses every child and parent at CGM to push me to depend completely on His guidance and leading and to show me how much I forget the commands of God. The same way a child is utterly dependent on their parents to survive; I should be utterly dependent on the Lord in every situation. I should cry out to him when I am weak and need to be reminded of the truths found in his word. The Lord shows me every single day how much I need him in order to love the parents and children with which I work. He continues to show me how much I depend on my own strength to make it through the day instead of depending on him. God is literally saving me as I live in Washington Park. I am more like Him today because I answered the call to move into this neighborhood. My world has been turned upside down, and I see God in ways I never could have imagined. He is saving me from myself and the lies of the enemy as I live and minister in Washington Park, and I am so thankful.
The children at CGM are teaching me so much more than I could ever teach them, and one of those things is: complete and utter dependence on Jesus.
