"If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain
himself with you, you shall support him as through he were a stranger and a
sojourner, and he shall live with you." Leviticus 25:35
There are people in this world that will tell you that the
only person you should look out for is yourself. They will tell you that people
should help themselves and that you shouldn't keep trying to help people. I
would tell these people that it is important that we Love people the way that
God loves us. God loves everyone and wants to be reconciled to all people. The
way that this is done is through the blood of Christ. Jesus died on the Cross,
so that you don't have to die, but is this the only reason that Jesus came to
earth, or was there more. Luke 4:18-19 " “The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me because he has anointed me to
proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the
captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are
oppressed,to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
Did you catch that, Jesus came to proclaim the good news to
the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the
blind and to set the oppressed free. Jesus came for those less fortunate people
that the world tells us aren't worth it. Jesus came for the people that are
outcast in our society, and he came for the people that are oppressed by sin.
We are called to do what Jesus did and to do greater works (John 14:12) I want
to challenge you to search your heart and start to think athink about what it
means to be a Disciple of Christ. How does being a disciple make you different
than your neighbor? Over 1 billion people in the world live off of less than a dollar
a day. And still we in the American church hide behind the walls of our “church"
and pretend like we are helping. Human beings are selfish creatures. We will
instinctively look out for ourselves before we will look out for others. Jesus
showed us something different. Jesus showed us what true love is. “By this we
know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our
lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his
brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in
him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
(1 John 3:16-18).
I opened this blog with Leviticus 25:35 because it is the way
I believe Jesus wants us to live. He wants us to help the people around us. He
wants us to give people a hand up. He wants us to build the people around us
up, so that they can function on their own in society. Jesus is the only way
that we can do this. Jesus has the power to transform people. I really believe
that what Leviticus 25:35 is telling us, Is that we need to help people get
back on their feet. It doesn’t say that we need to just hand money out and walk
away. It says that we need to be a lasting part of these people’s lives. It
says that we need to provide people with a way out of poverty and despair.
Lord God, I pray that you can give each of us strength to
see beyond our selfish motives and help the people you want to help. I pray
that you allow our hearts to break for the things that break your heart.
Through the Holy Spirit I pray that you give us the words to say and the power
to overcome the walls that are built around all these people’s lives. Allow
hope to enter the hearts of all those that we serve, and allow change to take
place, where change is needed. In your blessed and Holy name, Amen
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