Many times, when faced with an opportunity to extend mercy to people in need, I may feel sympathy but do nothing for one of many reasons:
1. I am overwhelmed by the great need and feel that I can't make a difference.
I think that this is a lie from the enemy. I am reminded of the feeding of the 5000. Jesus asked the disciples for what they had. HE then performed the miracle and multiplied the little they gave to meet the need. End of story ... this is how God wants to use us. He wants our obedience to his call to give him what we have ... what he has entrusted to us to manage according to his will. Even if we think we have nothing physical to give (which is not the case for most of us), we have our time, our voice, and our prayers. So no one is exempt.
God please help us to take these thoughts captive and make them obedient to the truth of Christ.
2. After hearing about a need, I am immediately distracted by something else and don't think twice about it.
Being distracted usually occurs when I am passively receiving the news/information of a need, either in church, or on TV. Perhaps I am easily distracted because something else is occupying a higher priority for my time and attention. Perhaps my heart is not in the right place. I try to imagine Jesus using this excuse and it is difficult for me. His heart seemed to be consistently prioritizing the needs of others, except when it got in the way of his need to be with his Father. Maybe I need to either respond immediately to needs, or at least write it down or set some kind of reminder to revisit the issue at some other time if it is not a time critical need.
God, please help us to give priority to those things that you give priority to, and ward off the untimely distractions from the enemy who would love nothing better than to waste our time and attention on lesser things .
3. I am not directly exposed to the need in my daily life, even in manageable levels, which does not prompt me to action.
As it is, I could potentially go throughout each day only exposed to my family, my church friends, and my coworkers. Most of the time, the basic needs of all of these people are generally met and exceeded to levels of comfort and entertainment that a relative few people in the world enjoy. I say this in contrast to those people in third world countries without clean water, or access basic health services, or those here who are kicked out of homeless shelters due to their dependence on their addictions. There are thousands of people who die everyday on this planet because they don't have the resources for basic survival that we take for granted.
Just in the last two weeks, I have felt that the answer to this is to seek out the need instead of comfortably living in ignorance of it. Actively and purposefully find out what the needs are and respond accordingly. Pray for God to show you how he wants to use you to fulfill the needs of others. Furthermore, be an advocate for their cause. I have found that the most effective tool to doing this is using the Internet. I think this is one of the reasons why God created Google and keeps their stock going up :) In the last couple weeks, I have been pointed to people in need by the blogs and emails of a few friends. After reading about needs I have never known about before, my eyes were opened to this approach. There are thousands of organizations around the world who fight for the cause of justice and mercy to those who are oppressed or otherwise in great need. Here is a short list of just a few that have gotten my attention:
Child sponsorship and Christian humanitarian aid organizations in third world countries:
worldvision.org
compassion.com
Funding heart surgeries for Iraqi children who may die otherwise:
buyshoessavelives.com
shevet.org
I also found out this week that there is a massive fundraising campaign and walkathon for the new homeless resource center they are building in downtown Dallas. They have a vision to eliminate chronic homelessness in Dallas by 2016. Click the graphic to find out more.
God, in our busy lives, please move our hearts once again to seek out the lost, suffering, and needy so as to extend your love and mercy to them. May we be characterized by our love for one another and the poor, as you were known for this, even among the unbelievers.
What are some other excuses that I need to be made aware of and pray against? What are some ways in which you and your families have lived out this mandate? What other organizations that live out this mandate are you involved with?
No comments:
Post a Comment