Basic HTML Version
Deal My Bread to the Hungry, August 24
Pure Religion Defined
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the
poor that are cast out to thy house?
Isaiah 58:7
What is pure religion? Christ has told us that pure religion is the
exercise of pity, sympathy, and love, in the home, in the church, and in
the world....
We are to think and care for others who need our love, our tenderness,
and care. We should ever remember that we are representatives of Christ,
and that we are to share the blessings that He gives, not with those who
can recompense us again, but with those who will appreciate the gifts
that will supply their temporal and spiritual necessities. Those who
give feasts for the purpose of helping those who have but little pleasure,
for the purpose of bringing brightness into their dreary lives, for the
purpose of relieving their poverty and distress, are acting unselfishly and
in harmony with the instruction of Christ.
All around us we see want and suffering. Families are in need of
food; little ones are crying for bread. The houses of the poor lack proper
furniture and bedding. Many live in mere hovels which are almost
destitute of conveniences. The cry of the poor reaches to heaven. God
sees; God hears.
The work of gathering in the needy ... is the very work which every
church that believes the truth for this time should long since have been
doing. We are to show the tender sympathy of the Samaritan in supplying
physical necessities, feeding the hungry, bringing the poor that are cast
out to our homes, gathering from God every day grace and strength that
will enable us to reach to the very depths of human misery and help
those who cannot possibly help themselves. In doing this work we have
a favorable opportunity to set forth Christ the crucified One.
[241]
251