Skip to main content

In 1971 I was privileged to be offered a position for the NSPCC

My Bible: reasons to believe in the power of the Bible

Previous Next

‘In 1971 I was privileged to be offered a position for the NSPCC, running a playgroup in Belfast. I had always worked with children. The first day I went in, I wasn’t prepared for these children. I was horrified. They were running around scratching their heads. Some of them had bruises. One little girl picked up a doll and hugged it. I don’t think she’d seen a doll before. The mothers were there too, and I could see that they were also being abused. 

‘I went home that afternoon and sat on my bed. I opened my Bible at Mark 10.14, “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these’.”

‘I kept saying, “thank you” for that. I went in the next day and looked at those children with Jesus’ eyes. I picked up the little girl and hugged her. I didn’t care if she had lice. 

‘I was there for two years and the love that I had for those people was absolutely amazing. This verse in Mark made me see them for who they were in Jesus. I wanted to do things for them as for him. It’s so important to show love for children, especially children that aren’t getting love somewhere else.’

Do you have a story to share? Email [email protected]

More Stories

My wife and I were told we’d likely never have children

My wife and I were told we’d likely never have children – even if we went through certain procedures. I was born with a “defect”, and after both of us went through some tests, I discovered I had one or two other issues...

I was furious. I had just come back from being interviewed by a college

‘I was furious. I had just come back from being interviewed by a college with a view to being trained to be a Baptist minister. The last thing my minister had said to me before I left was, “The one thing they won’t ask...

I became very ill when I was 20 years old and was hospitalised

I became very ill when I was 20 years old and was hospitalised, nil-by-mouth, on a morphine drip, etc. This illness led to me being in and out of hospital for the next year or so. At that time I wasn’t a Christian but my...

I’m sometimes guilty of thinking I know better than everyone else

I’m sometimes guilty of thinking I know better than everyone else. That mindset often extends to thinking I know what I need better than God. When my wife and I were moving house, I found that I tried too often to force...

I was an executive in a company. A colleague had retired and died very suddenly.

I was an executive in a company. A colleague had retired and died very suddenly. He was a lovely man, and I went to his memorial service. We sang, “Do not be afraid for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name...

I keep coming back to John 6.67–68

I keep coming back to John 6.67–68 where Jesus has been teaching and people are finding it hard to understand and lots of his peripheral followers are falling away.

Want to share how the Bible has impacted your life? Email [email protected]

Read the Bible icon Read the Bible