December 2nd
"Relief."
How many times have you heard this since the devastation of New Orleans or since the pandemic of AIDS in Africa has been brought to light? "Look, if poor and starving people were doing what they were supposed to, they wouldn't be having the problems they do! God would take care of them if they were worth taking care of.
As cruel and narrow as they may sound, comments like these are made all the time. Somehow, some people believe that the poor, needy and sick in our world are that way because they've done something to deserve it. They figure God would solve the problem if it was supposed to be solved. They don't realize that God is trying to solve the problem, but that the solution involves us. We are God's eyes, hands, and feet. He has blessed us with the resources needed to solve the problem. All that remains is for us to find the love and compassion within ourselves to make God's plan a reality. As we prepare to share in the blessings of Christmas, it is good to think of ways we might repay the Lord for the greatest gift ever given. How better can we return thanks for the life of Christ, than to share in saving the life of another?
I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.
Psalm 140:12
Provision for others is a fundamental responsibility of human life.
Woodrow Wilson
http://www.redcross.org/
Heaven
