So Check My Man Card Already…

Okay, I have a confession to make.  I make jewelry.  And I like it.  I have spent many hours over the last couple of months making paper beads for necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.  My daughter, Ashton, actually makes the finished products, but the beads…they’re mine.  Last night, Ashton taught me to make paracord (also known as survival) bracelets; they’re all the rage right now, and I know how to make them!

Before I have to turn in my man card, let me explain.  I didn’t grow up with an inner jewelry-maker screaming to get out..I am compelled to make jewelry for a few basic reasons:
    
1. There are 140 million+ orphans in the world who have very little, if any, voice to cry for help.  They   
don’t have a mom or dad to protect them, to care for them, to give them direction for the future, to
teach them how to live in this world.
2.  God hears them and knows them and cares for them.  Each one.  By name.
3.  The church is God’s ears to hear them, His feet to go to them, His arms to hold them, His hands to
provide for them, and His voice to tell them about Jesus.
4.  4theVoiceless needs some operating funds to get started ministering to the orphans near us and the
ones far away.  There are many ways to help, and some of them will take resources beyond what we
have, which is not much right now.
5.  Handmade jewelry is providing some of those funds while providing a platform to tell others about
our mission, God’s mission, to orphans.

So, really, I don’t care if this costs me my man card.  With every bead, every bracelet I make, I am reminded of God’s call to care for orphans.  With every piece of jewelry we sell, we hope that others are made aware of God’s call to care for orphans.

The Old Testament affirms God’s care for the voiceless in Israel.  “The widow, the orphan, and the alien among you” are mentioned many times in Scripture among God’s commands for His people.  These were the ones who had no protection, no inheritance among the people.  Yet God called for His people to protect them. 

As I have read through our church’s chronological Bible study this year, I have noticed that the call to care for the voiceless was peculiar among God’s people.  The Egyptians, Arameans, Philistines, etc., were not commanded to care for the voiceless; Israel, the nation through whom God chose to reveal Himself to the world, was. 

When Jesus walked the earth, the leaders of the day often came to Him, but the ones Jesus went to were the weak, the downtrodden, the voiceless.  The early church took the lead in caring for the voiceless, and the rest of the world took note.  If you have studied the early church at all, you know that they were persecuted and oppressed; their care for the voiceless didn’t come from abundance but from obedience.  It has become more and more apparent to me that to ignore the voiceless is to ignore the very heart of God.  So that’s why I spend my free time making jewelry, so that orphans near and far will be able to see and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here is a bracelet I made last night, the first of its kind.  There is a message in it:

Red and yellow, black and white.  They are precious in His sight.  Jesus loves the little children of the world.  Whether they have a mom and dad or not.  Whether I have a man card or not.

Thanks for reading.  Make a difference today.

Al