Recently, I decided to become a blogger for Compassion International. Why? Because I feel it’s a worthy cause. There are so many hurting children in this world. And while I love to think that I can single-handedly solve all the world’s problems, it is becoming increasingly clear that I can’t. Only God can do that. And, He needs US to help. Collectively. As a whole. As a group of Christians who have open hearts and hands and are willing to serve for Him.
I’ve been reading through The Great House of God by Max Lucado in my devotional time each morning. Something that I read this morning, really struck me. It was in the chapter called “The Kitchen”, focusing on the line “Give us this day our daily bread. . . ” from the Lord’s Prayer.
. . . many of us in the United States have trouble relating to the phrase “Give us this day our daily bread” because our pantries are so packed and our bellies so full we seldom ask for food. We ask for self-control. We don’t say, “God, let me eat.” We say, “God, help me not to eat so much.” You won’t find books in our stores on surviving starvation, but you’ll find shelves loaded with books on losing weight. This doesn’t negate the importance of this phrase, however. Just the opposite. For us, the blessed of belly, this prayer has double meaning. We pray, only to find our prayer already answered!
The term “bread” in the Lord’s Prayer is referring to more than just food, too – it’s referring to all of our physical needs. Just a few paragraphs before, Max says:
The essence of the prayer is really an affirmation of the Father’s care. Our provision is his priority. . . God is committed to caring for our needs. Paul wrote that a man who won’t feed his own family is worse than an unbeliever (I Tim. 5:8). How much more will a holy God care for his children? After all, how can we fulfill his mission unless our needs are met? How can we teach or minister or influence unless we have our basic needs satisfied?
In other words, God has equipped us with what we need, physically, so that we can, in turn, do His work here on earth. We can use what we have been given to help others who are in need.
We can choose to serve in so many different ways – we can be missionaries overseas, but we can also be missionaries right in our hometowns. We can support a child through Compassion International, or we can minister to our elderly neighbor. We can pack shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, or we can share Christmas with a needy family who lives nearby. There are so many hurting people in the world that we can do all of the above, and still not even touch the tip of those in need.
When I think of serving, these words spoken by Jesus always come to mind:
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[a] you did it to me.’ ~Matthew 25:34-40 (ESV)
We have our Daily Bread. Now, how can we help those who don’t?
*This post was written as part of a blog-hop for Compassion Blogger Network. If you’d like to be a part of the network, you can sign up here.
