My favorite Bible verses about raising children are Deuteronomy 6:4-7, which say, “Listen, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength. These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.”

The Hebrew word for “teach” in this verse is shanan (שָׁנַן). It literally means “to sharpen.” As children are cared for and raised into adulthood, the goal is to sharpen them, to refine them, so that they can fulfill The Great Commandment of loving God and others. Every day, our leaders in India and Nepal engage in this sharpening work, to help children have self worth, to develop and grow, and to care for others. India children’s home caregiver Camillus puts it this way, “At the end of it I don’t want them to just have a good education, I want them to be a good person… The thing that we really teach them is that since you are being helped, when you grow up you have to do that. You have to also help others, because you were helped.”

We have all been helped at different points in our lives and it taught us; it sharpened our understanding of grace and generosity. As you give to ServLife, you are helping to raise a generation of well educated, generous disciples of Jesus. Your love for your neighbor is empowering neighborhoods on the sides of mountains and in the grime of border-towns. Your investment in pastors, children and families is inviting and empowering others to receive, embrace and live out The Great Commandment in ways that were never possible before. Thank you for your generosity, support and love.

Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 22:37-39