September 30,
2007
Closing the Gap
There are few people who are not familiar with the name,
“Bill Gates.” As the founder of Microsoft, he has had
a profound
impact on the world of personal computers. He has kept his company in the
lead in creating and distributing
most of the
software used by most of the computers sold throughout the world. That has
made him one of the richest
individuals in
the world.
What you may not know is that he and his wife, Melinda, have
committed a large portion of their fortune to improving
the quality of
life for people around the world. They have contributed to efforts to combat
the HIV/AIDS epidemic, provide
vaccines to
children in developing countries, and insure clean drinking water for
people.
One of the projects the Gates Foundation has started working on recently is
improving the quality of education in the U.S.
They want to
see a significant increase in the number of students who graduate from high
school with the skills needed to
succeed in
college and work. One of the ways they believe that can be accomplished is
by having students attend smaller
schools where
they can have meaningful relationships with instructors who can help
students meet high standards. Smaller
schools also
are less likely to create cliques that separate students from one another.
Cliques reinforce the idea that we are
more different
than we are alike—that there are more things that divide us than should bind
us together.
Unfortunately, it seems to be easy for us to look at other
people as different. The sad result is that we don’t see the
opportunities
we have to help them grow into the people God wants them to become. We may
even be tempted to believe
that they would
never respond to an invitation to become a part of the community of faith.
Extraordinary Christians are always at work to eliminate the gaps that
divide us from one another. Jesus calls us to
join him in the
work he began. The good news is that it doesn’t take a fortune to
accomplish.
Ashley