The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Sunday
December 14, 2008
He will rescue the poor when they cry to him;
he will help the oppressed,
who have no one to defend them.
He feels pity for the weak and the needy,
and he will rescue them.
He will save them from oppression and from
violence,
for their lives are precious to him.
Psalm 72:12-14
I'm sitting here simply shaking my head. The Kingdom of Heaven is so unlike the world we live in. The poor, the oppressed, the weak, the needy, the oppressed, and victims of violence are not people we are drawn to. Most of us do anything we can to make our lives separate from these groups of people, but not our Lord.
Jesus drew to Him all sorts of folks that were not dressed fashionably. They were far from righteous, but in His eyes they were precious.
As we go about our Holiday "doings," let us not forget to be kind to those who aren't as well off as we are. Let us not pass by a Salvation Army bell ringer without dropping in a little bit of change as these soldiers ring the bells in the Lord's army.
Before she died, my sister played the piano for the Salvation Army. She was impressed with the work they did. It blew her away one Sunday when she received a telephone call that there wouldn't be a "church" service that day. Instead, the members were to meet at a particular home and give a "shower" to a family whose home had burned down. Wow! Can you imagine that?
So, let's get a new look at Christmas and what it really means to our Lord and not allow ourselves to think only of what is happening in our little circle.
Father, show us Your way. Help us be kind to those people we don't want to be kind to. Help us stretch our giving to include those whom You called, "the least of these."
