Thoughts on "Forgotten Girls"

Outside Reading 1

12/9/16

In 2011 I read the book Forgotten Girls: Stories of Hope and Courage and it changed my life. This book is about the oppression, abuse, and poverty of women around the world and how Christians are called to respond in love and compassion. The introduction to the book tells a true story about a girl called Parimala. Parimala was born in India and a few minutes after her birth her father buried her in the backyard; luckily the girls grandfather dropped Parimala off at a boy’s orphanage down the road and the couple that ran the orphanage raise her as their own.

 “Curious neighbors peered over the fence to see this couple who actually chose a girl. They watched as Auntie cared for her and sang as she fed the child from her own plate. They watched as Uncle tenderly rocked her and carried her with him when he went out to check the cows” (10).

I love this section of the book because it reminds me of how Christians are supposed to act. In the Bible, followers of Jesus are called to help the poor, the oppressed, and the orphan (Psalm 82:3, James 1:27). In 2 John 15:18-20 we are told that Christians are not meant to “belong to the world.” There is often a negative stigma with Christianity, and because of this I feel like a lot of Christians (including myself) have some point tried to blend in with everyone around us. I have had this mentality of “I am not one of those Christians” or “I’m just trying to mind my own business.” I have caught myself feeling superior to Christians that stick out, and then time and time again I have been convicted that, I am supposed to stick out.

 This quote really reminds me that blending in really is the opposite of what Christians are called to do.  I personally don’t think that it is great when Christians stand around and condemn those walking past them, and I also don’t think it’s ideal to use scare tactics to pressure people into following Jesus (“you are going to burn in hell”). I do believe, however, that Christians should stand out by the way that they love others---the way that they fight for justice, bring aid to the poor and the weak, and share the truth with those who don’t know God.

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

Christians are to be marked by the love that they show. It is a desire of mine to be the type of neighbor that makes the other neighbors peer over the fence and ask, “Why does she live like that?