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
Against the Flow Theme of the Week: A Heart for the Hurting Wednesday, October 16, 2002
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September/October 200255Against the FlowTheme of the Week: A Heart for the Hurting Against the Flow Theme of the Week: A Heart for the Hurting Wednesday, October 16
Key Bible Verse: If anyone … sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help—how can God's love be in that person? (1 John 3:17). Bonus Reading:1 John 3:11-24
Disciples are called to care for those in need. Finding favor with God apart from practical compassion for the poor is impossible.
In response to this teaching, a newlywed couple relocated to a poor neighborhood. A wave of burglaries had swept the neighborhood in previous months. A few months after moving in, my friends were burglarized. Many of their wedding gifts were taken while they were at work. They felt threatened, vulnerable, and violated, and debated whether or not they should move. After discussion and prayer, they decided to stay. Having their stuff stolen was part of what it meant to suffer with their neighbors.
Their willingness to stay and endure evil became the decisive event used by God to build trust with neighbors. It was the beginning of beautiful relationships. Neighbors began to look out for each other, and one young woman found faith in Jesus.
Many believers have had to endure even more difficult trials. But their witness is the same. God calls Christians to associate with the needy and bear the same burdens that they do, enduring the same problems, pains, and joys of their lives—just as Jesus did.
—Kevin Blue in Faith on the Edge
My Response: One way I could identify with the less fortunate in my area is …
Thought to Apply: It is the experience of touching the pain of others that is the key to change. … Compassion is a sign of transformation.—Jim Wallis (social activist)
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