They are the kids others look down on. They are the kids who go home every day to a house with no food, a drugged-up/alcoholic parent, or a place where they can never feel safe. They are the kids referred to as "problem" children, untrusting, unloved and hopeless. I do not say this to generalize all at-risk youth as having these problems. I say this because these are the kids society loves to judge and criticize, but maybe we need to take a step back.
I spend every Friday night from 7 to 11:30 volunteering with at-risk youth. The mission of the ministry I work with is to build deep, meaningful, Christ-filled relationships centered around a no-strings-attached love. Many of these youth have been written off by the people who are supposed to help and care about them. Some of these kids have never experienced what it is like to feel loved.
Society is quick to judge. There are many assumptions made about these kids that I would like to set straight right now. They are not broken beyond repair. They are not deviants. They are not futureless, mindless, worthless or unlovable. And they are NOT hopeless. They are bright. They are inspiring. They are full of zest for life, servant-hearted, brutally honest, completely raw, beautiful in every way, and they have a far greater capacity to love than I ever knew was possible. They have hope. Hope of a better tomorrow, hope for improvement and hope of a future.
Love is a force that is grossly underestimated. At-risk youth might have difficulty trusting and therefore be hard to reach, but do not underestimate the power of loving fully and relentlessly. What actually inspired me to write this article is an event that occurred a couple of weeks ago. A youth that we worked with unexpectedly passed away in a car accident. This young man in particular was hard to reach and connect with in the beginning, but one by one, he opened up to all of us. The way he loved us, his friends and his family was so deep and so ferocious that it inspires me every day to love like him. I had heard his testimony before his passing and found it to be incredibly moving. However, it was not until afterward when I was playing it on repeat that I truly understood the impact that love can have. Allow me to show you. This is Alex, and this is his testimony.
I have a challenge for you. Find somebody who needs love. It doesn't matter how old they are, just find somebody who needs love and love them, love them hard, no string attached. Love them the way that God loves them. Imagine if every single person in the world were to do this. The world can be transformed; we just have to be the ones to transform it.
