not JUST statistics

*Number of children in the world

   

2.2 billion

*Number in poverty

   

1 billion (every second child)

*For the 1.9 billion children from the developing world, there are:

640 million without adequate shelter (1 in 3)

       

400 million with no access to safe water (1 in 5)

270 million with no access to health services (1 in 7)

*Children out of education worldwide

   

121 million

*Survival for children worldwide:

10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (same as children population in France, Germany, Greece and Italy)

       

1.4 million die each year from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation

*Health of children worldwide

2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized

       

15 million children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS (similar to the total children population in Germany or United Kingdom)

And even more staggering:

The following groups of people do not have the Gospel:

• 865 million unreached Muslims or Islamic followers in 3330 cultural sub-groupings
• 550 million unreached Hindus in 1660 cultural sub-groups
• 150 million unreached Chinese in 830 groups
• 275 million unreached Buddhists in 900 groups
• 2550 unreached tribal groups (which are mainly animistic) with a total population of 140 million
• Forming a smaller -- though important -- unreached group are the 17 million Jews scattered across 134 countries

What does this mean for our family?  We are still figuring it out.  BUT we haven't been living like we believe this:

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And this:

21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

Or this:

Proverbs 21:13 Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.

Or this:

Proverbs 28:27 Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.

Proverbs 31:9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

And finally:

Luke 14:33
In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

It has been too easy for our family to live our very comfortable lives, with all of our "things" and pretend that the 22,000 children who die of starvation and preventable disease a day do not exist. But at what cost? I would like to beg every Christian I know to read the book Radical by David Platt, Paul and I are both reading it and God is using this book and some other circumstances to change everything about the way we think.  As I said before, we don't know exactly what this will look like.  We don't have a list of things we can check off to make us more responsible for the poor and the lost.  What we pray for is changed hearts and we beg God to reveal to us how we can obey him in radical ways, and that we will have the faith to obey radically.  Finally, we pray, that he will radically change our lives. (And when I say we, I mean it, Paul and I are on the same page, and that is a huge blessing.)