Debt
The Year was 1945 when a little girl was born. Her daddy was off to World War II. He would not come home for a long time. The mother struggled with a decision and decided to give her baby up for adoption to a minister's family.
The minister and his wife had waited nine years for a child by birth. The opportunity to adopt was the thrill of their lives. A little girl in their home filled the house with sounds they had longed to hear.
Folks would ask the little girl's daddy how many children he had. He would answer: "A house full." With persistence questioning the good minister would finally answer "One, but she is a house full!"
I knew those parents when their daughter was in her late teens. How they loved her. Her daddy thought she was too good to be true. Her mother surrendered her own dreams to love and provide the best opportunities for their daughter.
I met their daughter in college. We traveled over holidays for me to meet with her parents and ask for her hand in marriage. Years passed and the Lord graciously allowed us to adopt a little boy. More years passed.
Often my wife would say: "I wonder where my birth family is. I wonder what they are like. Would they accept me?"
I did the detective work and found her birth mother. She was gracious in phone conversation. Wisely, she had told her husband before marriage that she had given a child to be adopted.
When I spoke with her husband on the phone to ask his permission to travel to California and meet the family he was most gracious: "I have always known about Laila," he said. "I am finally happy to know I have another daughter. You are welcome to the family. Come on out to California." Tom has shown to Laila and our family total love and acceptance.
We went and took Laila's mother with us. She had personally know Laila's birth mother. Their meeting after 45 years was too emotional to watch. The birth mother said: "I gave her birth. You took care of her. You are her mother." They hugged and wept tears of joy for the Lord's graciousness to bring them together.
Laila's birth mother was a strong leader in an Assembly of God church. Laila's adopted father had deceased. Laila's step-father had never given his heart to Jesus. He would go to church, work in the church, was a good man, but had never asked Jesus to save him.
The birth mother and step-father came to Virginia to visit our family. Staying in our home we sat one morning in the breakfast nook. God did a wondrous miracle that morning and turned a 73 year-old man's heart home. Tom accepted Jesus as his Savior!
Laila discovered she was not an only child. Her birth father had four children. Her birth mother had six children. We were astonished to discover so many similarities of favorite foods, hobbies, etc., between Laila and her birth family.
Years have passed. Last night we received a call that Tom is not expected to live. Laila's birth mother has lost 15 pounds over a few days with no medical explanation as to why. The birth family wants Laila to come. Laila wants to go. I want her to go. She is going.
Fortunately, she found a ticket out of Dulles Airport for only a few hundred dollars. Her brother will meet her in Los Angeles. One of her sisters from West Virginia is also flying in.
You may say this is a personal story. My response is, "Yes, it is a personal story."
I share it to affirm to you the debt we owe. Can you imagine if Laila's birth mother had refused a phone call? What if she had said "I do not ever want you to contact me again? What if Tom had gotten on the phone, cursed, threatened, and said words that would have made clear we must never come to California to see them?
Debt is a precious thing. I have heard folks say they do not owe anyone anything. I can not imagine such poverty. I am rich in debt. I owe Thomas Edison for light bulbs; Benjamin Franklin for learning how to channel electricity; Singer for the sewing machine; Wright brothers for their work with airplanes; George Washington for refusing to be a king; electrical companies that provide power for my home; Henry Ford for the automobile...
I owe prophets of the Old Testament for keeping the fire burning; Jesus for coming to earth and going to Calvary; Disciples for the foundation they established for the Church after Jesus' Ascencion; the Apostle Paul for taking the gospel to the gentiles; William Tyndale for translating the Bible into English.
Debt? You bet! Big Time! Lots of it. More than can ever be paid. Yet, it occurs to me that my best effort in trying to pay debts I owe must be dedicated to caring for others, showing compassion, and reaching to share the gospel of hope with those who do not know Jesus.
For what God has done for me to adopt me into His family—I cannot repay my debt. When I gather with others to worship God, my soul exults in praise for the blessings I have received.
Pastor Bare
Romans 1:14 "I am debtor both to the Greeks and the gentiles, to the wise and the unwise."