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Our Obligations To The Poor, June 27
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me
drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was
sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Matthew 25:35, 36
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While the world needs sympathy, while it needs the prayers and assistance of
God’s people, while it needs to see Christ in the lives of His followers, the people
of God are equally in need of opportunities that draw out their sympathies, give
efficiency to their prayers, and develop in them a character like that of the divine
pattern.
It is to provide these opportunities that God has placed among us the poor, the
unfortunate, the sick, and the suffering. They are Christ’s legacy to His church,
and they are to be cared for as He would care for them. In this way God takes
away the dross and purifies the gold, giving us that culture of heart and character
which we need.
The Lord could carry forward His work without our cooperation. He is not
dependent on us for our money, our time, or our labor. But the church is very
precious in His sight. It is the case which contains His jewels, the fold which
encloses His flock, and He longs to see it without spot or blemish or any such
things. He yearns after it with unspeakable love. This is why He has given us
opportunities to work for Him, and He accepts our labors as tokens of our love
and loyalty.
In placing among us the poor and the suffering, the Lord is testing us to reveal
to us what is in our hearts.... The culture of the mind and heart is more easily
accomplished when we feel such tender sympathy for others that we bestow our
benefits and privileges to relieve their necessities....
Good works cost us a sacrifice, but it is in this very sacrifice that they pro-
vide discipline. These obligations bring us into conflict with natural feelings
and propensities, and in fulfilling them we gain victory after victory over the
objectionable traits of our characters.
The world will be convinced not so much by what the pulpit teaches as by
what the church lives. The preacher announces the theory of the gospel, but the
practical piety of the church demonstrates its power.
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