“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!…Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:1, 2
I have recently begun reading Beth Grant’s book, Courageous Compassion: Confronting Social Injustice in God’s Way. It is a challenging and heart-wrenching expose on the injustices committed against the most vulnerable members of society in countries around the world. Beth and her husband David have committed their lives to serve as missionaries in India. This commitment led them to reach out to prostituted women and children and help them to see the possibility of being freed from a life of slavery into a life as a child of God. While the book is focused on the social injustice of sexual slavery, the principals are applicable to any ministry of compassion.
As I am reading this, God is reaffirming in me that we need to view every person through God’s eyes–as someone He created and loves; as someone God wants to set free from sin; as someone for whom God has a plan and a purpose. In Beth’s words,
“If one believes a loving God created each human life in His image with a divine purpose, and that it is His will for that life to be lived with dignity and wholeness, that shapes how one views and relates to exploited teenage girls in Moldova.”This viewpoint should also shape how one views the homeless person walking down any street in America carrying all his belongings on his back, the drug addicted mother who doesn’t take proper care of her children, the disabled person who needs help with the most basic functions of life, and the mentally ill person struggling to make sense of life.Embed from Getty Images
If we truly believe that each of us is created in God’s image, we must treat each person we encounter with dignity and compassion. We must share God’s Word and God’s love with them. We must help them to believe that no one can fall so far that God cannot pick her up and transform her into His child. God looks at each of us and see us as He intends us to be, His children whom He loves and whom He wants to transform to fulfill His divine purpose for our lives.
My prayer is that I will look at the most vulnerable members of our society with eyes full of compassion and love. May I will allow God to teach me how to treat each one with dignity and grace., so that they too will know the blessing of being called a child of God.
Will you allow God to use you to share His love with those in need of love and compassion?
Susan's Reflections 
I’ve met the Grants and have heard David preach a few times. But that was more than a decade back. I had no idea she had a book out. This has been bumped right up to the top of my reading list.
It is well worth the time. Beth is a great writer and clearly God has given her this message.