These men were not working out of a back alley or waving candy from a car with dark tinted windows. The fact is they were volunteering their time, effort, and resources for the cause of Jesus Christ. Ashley’s concerned for her children’s temporal welfare, and this is good. The Gideon’s in question were concerned with her children’s eternal welfare and this too is good, if not better.
It seems any parent who claims to love their child would love them enough to also be concerned with where their child will spend eternity. What these men were doing was being done in selfless, unconditional love – The same kind of love Christ had for the mocking crowd as He looked down upon them from the cross.
I truly wish I had crossed paths with a Gideon when I was 12 years old, for if I had I would have received from them something I never received from my parents – The Gospel message of God’s love for me. Were my parents wrong for withholding this message of hope from me? Simply put, yes they were. What they withheld from me was not done in love but in a selfish desire to mold me into their image. Love should be a parent’s legacy, not bias.
God bless these ‘old’ men! Sure, they take heat from parents and school officials on occasion, but like David said as he went to face the giant Goliath, “Is there not a cause!” And their cause is this; to see that the Gospel of God’s Grace is made available to both young and old alike.
This world is falling apart at the seams. Hope is fading and despair abounds. Contained within the ‘propaganda’ these men were handing out is this verse; “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). Does any parent really believe this a message that can corrupt or threaten their child?
God promises salvation to all who will turn away from their sins and place their faith in the finished, atoning work of His Son on the cross for their forgiveness. This is the Gospel of Grace. Jesus said, ““Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3). When we sincerely repent of our sins and place our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we become born-again. When we’re born-again in the Spirit we become able to love the unlovable and forgive the unforgiveable. Works of righteousness will flow from us, not as the cause of our salvation but as the effect of our salvation. Isn’t this something we should want, not only for ourselves, but for our children?
Joe Slobig
Sun River
