THE POOR, THE NEEDY, THE WIDOW, THE ORPHAN
This tragedy in Haiti .... well it gets me thinking about a
number of things.
I'm thankful we have agencies and individual people, as well as
our Provincial/State and Federal Governments that care, that are
willing to give of their resources, their money, their manpower,
their skills, their medicines and etc. I was watching the BBC
news today, and they were on board a huge USA ship - a floating
hospital - with every modern space-age equipment you could think of
- they have 4,000 beds - a hospital plus a hospital, it was so large.
You see the news of plane after plane flying in to Port au Prince,
loaded with needed supplies of life, and men and women to serve.
You know this all reminds me of the concern and love God has had
for the poor and the needy, for the sick and the widow and
orphan, down through history. He gave many laws to our ancient fathers
under the Old Covenant - laws to govern the land righteously, and
in those laws were laws for the poor, the sick, the widow, the
orphan. If you have read some of the Old Testament, you will
remember the law that the corners of the harvest field were not
to be harvested by the owner, they were to be left for the poor to
partake of.
Jesus said, the poor and needy we would always have in our midst;
it was always so in ancient Israel.
God loves the poor, the widow, the orphan, sometimes it seems all
they have is the Lord to comfort them in their distress, their
sorrow, their need.
Do you notice friends that when help is needed, the Anglo-Saxon-
Celtic-people, and nations of Europe who are part of our family
tree of people, are first in line to give and serve, and I might
add, last in line to walk away from serving. Yes, some of that is
because we have been especially blessed with physical materials,
but I also think it is because, maybe not realizing so, we have
had for centuries been inbred with the laws of remembering the poor
and the needy, the sick, and the widow and the orphan. Our leaders
and people do not even realize it is so because they do not know who
we are, and from whence we came, and why it is that our peoples have
had the Bible for centuries as one of our national treasure. It's
kinda like as why the recent movie of 2010 "The Book of Eli" was
made. If you see it sometime, it gives the lesson I've just
explained, and from that lesson (put aside the graphic violence
it has) it is so true, we are the people of "the book" like it or
not, believe it or not, and it shall so remain until one day
nationally we shall once more proclaim it near and far; we shall
hold it up as life saving and life renewing.
The New Testament church never forgot the laws of God towards the
poor, the widow, the orphan. Paul came along, and he was the "new
kid on the block" - he went off teaching and preaching, for many
years, and never went up to Jerusalem to visit with the apostles
like Peter and James. He finally did, and then it was 14 years
later that he went up again because of the circumcision issue.
The apostles at Jerusalem could add nothing to what Paul was
teaching.
They gave him and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship (Gal.2:1-
9).
But they did ask Paul that "we should remember the poor; the same
which I also was forward to do" (verse 10).
Paul, Barnabas, the apostles at Jerusalem, and others in the work
of the Lord, had not forgotten the laws of God towards serving
the poor, the needy, the sick, the widow, the orphan.
No questions asked friends, it makes no difference your skin
color, your talents, your ability to give back, your social position in
life, your good looks or lack thereof, your ability to become
famous because of inborn gifts, or that you never become famous.
None of that is to be looked at. God just tells you, do not
forget the poor, the needy, the sick, the widow, the orphan.
You may like at this time to do a Bible study on the words,
"poor" - "sick" - "widow" - "orphan" --- Strong's Concordance of the
Bible will give you ever passage where those words are used in the KJV.
Then there is "Nave's Topical Bible" where many of those passage
are all written out for you.
At this time, it's time to remember! Then act!
.........................
|
