I Saw What I Saw

Sara Groves wrote this song after a trip to Rwanda in 2007. My favorite line is when she sings, "Something on the road cut me to the soul." In the video, she mentions several of the things she saw on the road that cut her to the soul: neighbors carrying a friend to the hospital, a friend giving the shirt off His back, her son in a little boy's eyes. These words remind me of a parable told by Jesus Christ. A man was beaten up by robbers and left for dead on the side of the road. A priest saw him on the road and passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite saw him on the road and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. In other words, "something on the road cut him to the soul." Were the priest and the Levite not cut to the soul when they saw the man on the side of the road? Surely they were, my guess is they were pretty compassionate dudes. So, why did the priest and the Levite choose to pass by on the other side? Why was the Samaritan the only one of the three who chose to show him mercy. I think you know why. As you journey through life and something on the road cuts you to the soul, why do you choose to pass by on the other side? Overwhelmed by your own life? Ignorant in knowing how to help? Unable to deal with interruptions to your schedule? Paralyzed by fear of the unknown? An eighteenth-century English philosopher named Edmund Burke once said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [and women] to do nothing." My guess is you are a pretty compassionate person. Will you choose to act on your compassion or will you choose to cross over to the other side of the road?

Orphan Sunday

Sunday, November 7, 2010

I often hear people make this comment, "God has not called me to adopt."

They may be right; however, God has called them to care for the orphan. There is no doubt about it. You don't have to wait for a spiritual nudge or a special dream or a prophetic vision or a meaningful worship experience or an emotional video or an influential mission trip or a motivational sermon. In His Word, God "calls" each one of us to care for the orphan.

The calling is unmistakable.

Defend the cause of the fatherless, place the lonely into families, look after the orphan.

How will you respond to His call? Sponsor a child through Compassion International or World Vision. Give to a family who is currently in the adoption process. Pray about your family beginning the process of adoption or foster care. There are many ways you can respond. Ask our Father how He can use you to help care for His little ones.

You have been given a special calling.

Hosea 14:3 "In you the orphan finds mercy."