Why Should We Care?

We should care because God does!

God so loves the world!  God has a big heart for those who don’t have a people or a place to call home.  Remember, God called out Abraham from the home he knew and promised to make a nation from him in a foreign land.  Later, God delivered his chosen people out of Egypt and then made sure they looked after the orphan, widow, and foreigner living among them.  

God’s compassion always leads to action.  Jesus left the glory of his heavenly home, humbled himself as a servant, and became a man in order to restore us back to himself.

We should care because we relate.

Spiritually speaking, we all were once orphans and refugees, wandering with no home and no father.  But, because of Jesus, we were accepted into the family and kingdom of our Heavenly Father.  When we remember where we were without Christ, we leave room for God’s compassion to fill our hearts for those who have physical or spiritual needs around us. 

We should care because it fulfills one of the greatest commandments

Most of us can recite the two greatest commandments to love the Lord our God and love our neighbor as ourselves.  But, sometimes we miss how Jesus expands on the idea of loving our neighbor by telling the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  The Samaritan crossed boundaries of comfort and culture to identify with another man in his suffering, and he gave of his time, energy, and resources to meet the man’s need.  

In this story, love was not merely a nice feeling for someone, but a commitment to act.  (That sounds like what the Lord did for us!).  By stepping out beyond what is familiar to us and moving with compassion on behalf of the need of another, we are taking on the heart of God to love as he loves.  What a privilege we have to care for the need of an orphan, widow, or foreigner!