¹⁸He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. ¹⁹ And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners.

Much has been made of the ‘rules’ that we find in the Bible. There are of course the 10 commandments and the 613 laws that Moses put in place and a few other things that we interpret as rules but the reality is actually quite simple. Jesus distilled them all down to 2 things “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (See Matthew 22:37-39). The point of these is to help us make sure that we’ve got our priorities right. God first, others next and ourselves last. It’s not just a good set of priorities it’s a great way to look at life in general.

If we are truly living a life in Christ, filled with His Holy Spirit, we will naturally want to live a life that fosters and offers the same kind of love and compassion that He does. We’ll want to look like Him, behave like Him and work like Him. In all of His earthly ministry Jesus constantly showed love and compassion for those who were in need around Him. He healed them, taught them and even raised a couple of them from the dead. He never differentiated between those who were Jewish and those who were from other places. He honoured and blessed them all – including the Romans who persecuted and oppressed the Jewish people and the Samaritans who were considered unclean.

That’s the way we’re meant to be – looking out for the poor and the weak, helping those who are in need of refuge or safety and blessing those who are without no matter where they’re from, what they might have done or what they might look like.

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Application:

Sometimes it’s hard to look past each other’s faults or differences but ion Jesus that’s exactly what we’re called to do. It’s remarkable how often we find that the people we’ve helped become a blessing to others. Why not keep an eye out for people who need help? See what you can do to bless them.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus help us to see the widow and the fatherless, the lost and the broken in the places where we live and work. Help us to be a blessing to those who are struggling with life or who have had difficulty finding a place of safety or refuge. Equip us to be a blessing to them and to see good in places where there has only been darkness. Amen.