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The Ministry of Healing
The God of the whole earth shall He be called.”
“Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive;
And let thy widows trust in Me.”
Psalm 68:5; Isaiah 54:5,
A.R.V.; Jeremiah 49:11.
Many a father, when called upon to part from his loved ones,
has died resting in faith upon God’s promise to care for them. The
Lord provides for the widow and the fatherless, not by a miracle in
sending manna from heaven, not by sending ravens to bring them
food; but by a miracle upon human hearts, expelling selfishness,
and unsealing the fountains of Christlike love. The afflicted and
bereaved ones He commits to His followers as a precious trust. They
have the very strongest claim upon our sympathy.
In homes supplied with life’s comforts, in bins and granaries
filled with the yield of abundant harvests, in warehouses stocked
with the products of the loom, and vaults stored with gold and silver,
God has supplied means for the sustenance of these needy ones. He
calls upon us to be channels of His bounty.
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Many a widowed mother with her fatherless children is bravely
striving to bear her double burden, often toiling far beyond her
strength in order to keep her little ones with her and to provide for
their needs. Little time has she for their training and instruction, little
opportunity to surround them with influences that would brighten
their lives. She needs encouragement, sympathy, and tangible help.
God calls upon us to supply to these children, so far as we can,
the want of a father’s care. Instead of standing aloof, complaining
of their faults, and of the trouble they may cause, help them in every
way possible. Seek to aid the careworn mother. Lighten her burdens.
Then there are the multitudes of children who have been wholly
deprived of the guidance of parents and the subduing influence of
a Christian home. Let Christians open their hearts and homes to
these helpless ones. The work that God has committed to them as
an individual duty should not be turned over to some benevolent
institution or left to the chances of the world’s charity. If the children
have no relatives able to give them care, let the members of the