Which of the following are similar to the ways you've served Christ in your family? [check all that apply]
• Taught your kids to see God's glory in nature
• Washed the dishes without being asked
• Played a board game with your kids
• Encouraged your wife to finish her master's degree
• Attended a child's open house at school
• Worked fewer hours to be with your family
• Set an example of a godly prayer life for your children
• Held a crying child
• Swung on the tire swing with your daughter
• Told your wife why you're still in love with her
• Told your son he's got what it takes
• Coached soccer
• Let you child correct you now and then
• Fixed the vacuum cleaner
• Taught your sons to ride a bike
• Listened patiently to a complaint of your wife
• Taped your child's artwork to your office wall
• Admitted to your kids that you were wrong
• Told your children how Christ entered your life
• Cleaned up vomit
• Taught your children to love books
• Been romantic without expecting sex
• Told your daughter she's smart/beautiful
• Set standards for your kids and stuck to them
• Dealt graciously with a busybody neighbor
• Peeled carrots
• Watched movies together
Two Bikes and a Rake Theme of the Week: A Heart for the Hurting Monday, October 14, 2002
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September/October 200255Two Bikes and a RakeTheme of the Week: A Heart for the Hurting Two Bikes and a Rake Theme of the Week: A Heart for the Hurting Monday, October 14
Key Bible Verse: "When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!" (Matthew 25:40). Bonus Reading:Matthew 25:31-46
When I first began seeing God's love for the poor in Scripture, caring for them was both a novel idea and an exciting adventure. But to be honest, it quickly lost much of the glamour. I found some poor people very demanding, ungrateful, and belligerent. I've had two bicycles and various gardening tools stolen from my house. Sometimes I laugh when I tell these stories, but they weren't so funny when they happened.
So the Scriptures look a little different to me now. I read them with a better understanding of the cost of love. But it's funny; despite my more realistic view of what it means to love the poor, I come up with the same thing: God calls me to have compassion on those in need.
The Lord hears the cry of the poor. Love for those in need is not optional; it's a central mandate of the faith. It's not a political issue; it's a biblical one. It's so much at the heart of who Jesus is, so much a part of His character, that He tells us if we don't love those in need, we don't love Him. Loving the poor is one of the clear marks of a disciple, regardless of how we're treated in return.
—Kevin Blue in Faith on the Edge
My Response: My motivation to help the needy will survive ingratitude because …
Thought to Apply: If you're going to care about the fall of the sparrow, you can't pick and choose who's going to be the sparrow.—Madeleine L'engle (writer)
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