ON HELPING OTHERS

Reading from the Bible:

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither thou shalt gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God. 11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. 12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither thou shalt profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord. 13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. 14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord. 15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgement: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. LEVITICUS 19:9-15

SUMMARY :

When snowstorms bury the grazing lands, ranchers must feed their herds by hand. As hay is tossed from wagons and trucks, the strongest animals bull their way to the front. Timid or sickly animals get little or no feed unless the rancher intervenes.

                                                   Working in refugee camps and food pantries report a similar pattern. When they open their stores to those in need, the weak and timid may not make it to the front of the line. Like the ranchers, these human lifelines must take steps to ensure that their services reach the feeble, weary and sick at the edge of society’s attention.

                        They are carrying out a principle set forth by God long ago. In Leviticus 19, Moses instructed Israel’s farmers and vintners to leave portions of their crops so the poor and stranger could have something to eat (vv. 9-10).

                                                       We too can serve as caretakers to the weak and weary. Whether we are teachers coaxing quiet students to open up, workers coming alongside a struggling co-worker, prisoners looking out for new arrivals, or parents showing attention to their children, we have ways to honor God by helping others.

     As we seek to serve those in need, may the grace of God that reached us in our need move us to reach out to others in theirs.---Randy Kilgore

              

               Father, open my eyes to those struggling to have

              Enough food, enough love, enough hope; then open my

             heart to find ways to help them receive love, using my

            hands in service to them---and through them, to you.

                                                                                                                                                    

          

By serving others, we serve God.