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He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD,
And He will pay back what he has given. Proverbs
19:17, NKJV
One cannot read and understand the Bible without knowing that God
expects all of us to care about the needs of other people.
If we expect the Lord to care about us and our circumstances,
then we must pay attention to the needs and circumstances of
others and do whatever we can to help out. The Lord Jesus
says that even our sins will not be forgiven if we are unwilling
to forgive others.
This is not a "works" theology at all. it is human decency,
part of the "good works" to which all true believers are
ordained (see Ephesians, chapter 2). God wants human
beings to care about human beings. After all, we are
family, all descended from Adam and Eve, according to the
teaching of both Genesis and Romans.
Jesus Christ demonstrates the love of God for all humanity.
God gave His own beloved Son, the Gospel says, so that we may
all have the opportunity to believe and be saved. We learn
about love, the same writer says near the end of the New
Testament, by observing and experiencing God's love for us in
the gift of His Son.
More than that, God's Holy Spirit within enables to love. We
do not have to try and work up some feelings of pity for others.
The genuine compassion that God has for us all flows from His
own heart down into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).
As people of God and imitators of Jesus Christ, we have the
privilege to walk in this world as Jesus Himself once walked.
We all know that He went about doing good. He healed sick
people, fed hungry people, made the diseased and tormented free.
He worked miracles. And He was motivated by compassion.
Jesus cared about the people all around Him, and that goodness
flowed out of Him, touching and changing the lives of needy
people.
We are all needy people. Every one of us needs forgiveness,
from time to time. All of are sometimes sick or weak or
injured. We need help to make it through difficult times.
Jesus makes much of the importance of visiting the imprisoned
and sick. he leaves no doubts as to how important it is
for us to feed the hungry and show kindness to strangers when
they are in need.
People in our community, in our city and nation, and people around
the world need our help. They need our prayers, our
thoughts, our letters and our money. They whatever we can
give.
Some people give sacrificially. They live on very little and
give away very much. And most of us give at least a
little. But we need to do whatever we can to make sure
that hungry people are fed, that children and families have a
home, a safe place to sleep and rest. We need to help
towns and communities to restore water, power, and other needs.
We need to think of ways to help poor societies get on their
feet, so they can produce goods and provide education for their
children and live with some dignity.
I'm not talking about "charity" as that word has come to be used
in America. I mean simple human caring and the love of God
which should motivate us to help make our world a little better.
If we say we care about human souls, that's fine. But we
need to understand that a soul is a life. It is the hopes
and dreams and joy and anguish a person has. God comforts
us in our times of need, and we need to reach out to bring real
help and comfort to others.
By all means, let the good news of Jesus Christ by our first
priority. But we dare not preach to people who are
suffering physically without doing all we can to meet the
physical needs. Let us pattern our ministry after the Lord
Jesus, who fed the hungry and ministered to their physical needs
while teaching them the message of God.
©2007 GospelGifs
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