By Marni Montanez
1 John 3:17-18 ESV
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.
When feeding the hungry, not only are their bodies fed, but their soul is nourished with the food of love given to them. The soul can die just as the body can if not given proper nourishment.
God could easily rain down manna from heaven to feed the poor, but He doesn’t….why? Because He uses us to be His vessels ………...not as a replacement for Him but as an extension of His love and mercy. He is slowly shaping us into the image He created us to be. Unfortunately we were misshapen by our carnal nature, Satan's deceptions and the world’s influences.
Jesus said the poor will be with you always, but this wasn’t to say that there was nothing that would resolve the issue of the poor. The issue of the poor is just as important to Him as our hearts becoming like His.
The poor do exist and we need them, more than they need us. They may not have food in their bellies, but we expose our emaciated heart when we ignore their cries. Our hearts are changed when we allow His tenderness to mold and soften any hardness of heart. The softening of our hearts comes from seeing the oppressed. We become tender as we give of our time, money and ourselves to others in need and break out of the bubble of selfishness.
God can use anyone anywhere to meet a need, but in order for us to be like Him we must be available to fulfill that need with the resources God has given us.
Jesus says when we do these acts of kindness to others we do it to Him. This is because His heart moves among the oppressed and lonely. He knows their pain intimately. As a giver we express the heart of God, because He is a giver. He came to this earth and identified with the poor more than He identified with any other group of people.
As people of faith, we must be people of generosity and be a constant conduit for those who are not as fortunate.
Challenge: Ask God to change your heart in such a way that you become a giver. Stop arguing yourself out of giving, just give and trust God to fulfill your needs and desires. You can never out give God.
God bless
Marni
Go on to: 1 John 4:16 God is Love
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The
purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate,
and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through
Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord
require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your
God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or
crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the
standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for
the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not
Christian.