Let us do more good things

“We need to do more good things.”

Elizabeth Barnes

Contributing Columnist

“We need to do more good things.”. Those were the profound, simply-expressed, and heart-touching words of an elegant, beleaguered but relieved and grateful, young mother of a two-year-old, adorable little daughter suffering from cancer, who was last spring airlifted, along with 1300 other sick children and youth, from war-torn Ukraine. Her child and the others were rescued by, and through the auspices of, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, with the orchestrated help of Ukraine’s First Lady, America’s First Lady, and other compassionate benefactors from other NATO countries, between March and May of last year. A recent edition of CBS’s Sunday evening news program, 60 Minutes, gave to me and others this wonderful and encouraging news. While I have contributed a modest gift to St. Jude’s Hospital annually for a few years now, never before have I appreciated more the outstanding Christian work of healing which they offer and administer, than I have since learning of this mission of mercy for mortally sick Ukrainian children and their parents.

The refugee Ukrainian mother, now expecting another child, spoke her deep gratitude for the renewed chance at life, and living, which her daughter, and all the other suffering children, have been given. At one point in Scott Pelley’s sensitive and excellent interview of her, this intelligent young mother said that she did not understand why Russia wants to fight people, and asked, rhetorically and sadly, “Why doesn’t Russia fight cancer instead?”. Her final statement was, “We need to do more good things.”

Indeed we do. Can we set our minds to that? As sincere believers who seek to honor and follow the Lord, let us work hard at doing more good things. Let us fight cancer. Let us fight multiple sclerosis. Let us fight cerebral palsy. Let us fight food insecurity. Let us fight hatred and prejudice. Let us fight all of that which dishonors God. Let us fight all that harms our neighbor, all of our neighbors. Let us do more good things.

Let us legislate gun control laws taking battleground assault rifles out of the hands of civilians, whatever their age. Let us save other children’s lives exactly that way. Let us get serious about doing that good thing.

Let us impose federal regulations on gun manufacturers which hold them responsible for making and hawking weapons of mass murder to anyone of any age at all and for liability in the injuries and deaths which result from the criminal uses of those guns. Let us do that good thing.

Let us return to houses of worship on Sundays and honor and worship God. Thirty years ago, I said to my seminary students, ‘We have two Saturdays in this culture now.”. Our culture has made no significant distinction between Saturday and Sunday since post-World War Two commerce opened stores and shopping malls on Sundays and enticed consumers with credit cards to “shop till you drop.”. Both days, Saturday and Sunday, are given over to shopping, pleasure, sports, yard work, and other personal pastimes, with shopping and spending proudly holding top spot. Church attendance and assembled worship on Sunday hold very little relevance in many people’s lives now. Let us do the good thing of restoring Sunday, as a day of worship by assembled believers in sanctuaries consecrated to God for that holy purpose.

Today, as I am working on this column, I am happy to see again the schoolchildren who have come to Camp Clearwater in buses provided by the public school systems of Robeson and New Hanover Counties. For several summers now, they have come to the lake on Tuesdays and Thursdays, usually, for 3 or 4 hours of fun at our safe, inland White Lake, free of riptides and sharks. New Hanover County’s sheriff’s department also sponsors a program, evidently in conjunction with the county school system. I see their vehicles present, as well. This kind of attention and care for our children, joins St. Jude Children’s Hospital’s and their benefactors’ care for the sick children of Ukraine, in “doing more good things.”. God is honored in this good work.

The supremely good thing we need to do for our children is to bring them, all the children, to Jesus, that He might touch and bless them. Mark, in the oldest Gospel, chapter 10:13-16, gives us a tender picture of Jesus with the young children:

“And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them: and His disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto them, ‘Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily, I say unto you, that whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.’ And He took them up in

His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them.”

“And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them.”. Thank You, Lord, for that supremely good thing.

Thanks be to God.