Real Destination Unknown

I feel I need to back up here and lay a foundation, mostly to sort things out in my own mind….

For those of you who are joining us on our journey I again want to emphasize to you that there is No Known End Destination of this journey, at this point.  We are merely walking by faith and seeing where God is going to lead us and really are open to whatever it is he has planned. This is what we know right now…

“Once our eyes are opened,

we can’t pretend we don’t know.

God who weighs our hearts 

and keeps our souls,

knows that we know and holds

us responsible to act.”

(Prov. 24:12 paraphrased)

We have gone and we have seen and now we are responsible to do something about it!  It is our desire that through our words, actions and even this blog others will be more aware of the needs of those so less fortunate than us. We hope that in some small way God will use us as a stepping-stone or vehicle for others to make their move in helping the least of these. 

Another verse that is so often used when speaking of this subject is this…

James 1:27 says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

I do not mean to step on anyone’s shoes here because we have done the same, but to often I feel that we as Christians look at this verse, obviously believe it and then we go and give the few extra dollars we find in our junk draw OR fill a shoe box of things we got at the dollar store during Christmas time, pat ourselves on the back, make a checkmark that we accomplished what we were suppose to do and THAT’S IT!!!

When studying the verse further the Greek word for “look after”, “episkeptomai”, does not merely mean to go to see, but to relieve the problem. Not a shallow term, it implies a commitment to fully meet the needs of the person to whom we are ministering. James indicates that this type of commitment is an outpouring of a heart determined to follow the Lord rather than the world’s standards.  It is every believer’s responsibility to care for orphans, not just a select few. While some families can welcome a child into their homes, others can help make this and other things possible financially.  The way we choose to minister to these children isn’t as important as the fact that we all should be ministering to these children in some way. The love that we lavish on the them will be both a testimony to the world and an opportunity to show our love for the Lord.

Ultimately in the day of judgment “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” – Matthew 25:40 (NIV)