VOLUME I • ISSUE NO. 6
THE OTHER FOO DOG
"Fear not the lions for they are chained; and are placed there for trial of faith where it is, and the discovery of those that have none."
John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress
In The Pilgrim's Progress, the lions beside the path were never merely obstacles. They were a test of whether a pilgrim trusted the Father's voice enough to keep walking despite his fears.
Another pair of lions came to mind this week. They are the mythical guardian creatures we Westerners call Foo Dogs. They are not dogs at all, but lions that happen to offer a visual allegory echoing a profound Kingdom truth.
One rests its paw upon an embroidered ball representing the world. The other gently guards a single cub.
Looking at them, I couldn't help wondering if most of us spend far too much time admiring the wrong Foo Dog.
In 1954, Mark and Huldah Buntain boarded a ship bound for Calcutta, India, having committed to serve for just one year. They left behind lives most people would have envied. Mark walked away from a successful career as a popular radio broadcaster and gifted baseball player. Huldah, a classically trained pianist, left the comforts of home to follow God's call.
Much like Bunyan's lions, their own test of faith came almost immediately. As their ship made it's way up the Hooghly River, Huldah later wrote that it felt like entering "the mouth of a dragon." The polluted waters carried death and carcasses and everything within her wondered if they had made a terrible mistake.
God's purpose was about to become unmistakably clear.
During a tent meeting, a hungry man interrupted with a sentence they would never forget..
"Feed our bellies and then tell us there is a God in heaven who loves us!"
That moment changed everything.
The hungry man's plea reshaped their ministry. They no longer measured success simply by the people who heard the Gospel, but by the lives they could help restore. Every child became a whole person to love, with a body to strengthen, a mind to educate, a soul to disciple, and a purpose waiting to unfold.
They stopped asking,
"What does this child need today?"
and started asking,
"Who might this child become tomorrow?"
The children of Calcutta's slums who once reached for bread grew into the very physicians, educators, pastors, and leaders who would return to those same communities and help break the cycle.
Years later, Huldah looked back over a lifetime of miracles and encapsulated their mission into one beautiful sentence:
"We can't change the whole world,
but we can change someone's world."
She was right.
OneChild has grown into a legacy that includes more than 700 churches, a six story hospital, schools, Bible colleges, vocational training centers, and a Christ centered child sponsorship ministry that nurtures the whole child.
Heaven has always made sure the best stories begin with the number one.
There is one God, one Father, one Spirit, one faith, one Savior, one Cross, one empty tomb, and one narrow way.
The Good Shepherd would leave the ninety-nine to find one lost sheep.
Zero cannot be multiplied, but one can.
One faithful conversation.
One meal.
One song.
One story.
One act of generosity.
One child.
We ask God for the globe while He places one precious soul beneath our hand and in our care.
Perhaps the lion with the cub has been telling the better story all along.
So this week, as you slip away for your audience of One with the Father, instead of asking,
"Lord, how can I change the world?"
ask Him something even more thought provoking:
"Who is my one today?"
Then have the courage to walk between whatever lions...or dragons stand beside your path.
The Father has a remarkable habit of entrusting the world to those who first learn to respond faithfully for one.
Until next Tuesday, may your blessings be double and your burdens be light.
Michelle Driscoll
VISIT THE BEULAH SHOPPE™ FOR THE TRIAL OF FAITH™ INDOOR/OUTDOOR MAT — HEIRLOOM LINEN →
