DAY 34: WHO BELONGS TO THE KINGDOM?

DAY 34: WHO BELONGS TO THE KINGDOM?

SCRIPTURE:

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like the flower of the grass he will pass away. James 1:9-10

He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. Psalm 72:13

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven Matthew 5:3

OBSERVATION:

“Remember that thou in thy lifetime received good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.” In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, we are given a chilling picture of the afterlife. The rich man is tormented in a terrible dry place of fire, his thirst so great, that even a single drop of water would be heavenly. Meanwhile, Lazarus, who was so poor and tortured in his life, is instead comforted by Father Abraham.  

By New Testament standards, most of us are considered rich, living in comfort and having abundant food and clothing. And the apostle James warns us that we should not proud, but humble, heeding the warning of the rich man who ignored the poor man at his gate.

Throughout the Bible, God is always seen to be concerned with the poor, with the helpless and destitute, who suffer on the streets, and are barely able to get by in their abject poverty. No one may seem to care, but God does. His eye is upon them, and it is they who are usually most open to the Gospel, and receive with gratitude the gift of salvation that God gives through His Son.

In an age where the popular gospel is the one of Prosperity, little focus is being given to those the Lord is most concerned for – the poor and needy among us. It is true that we are saved by grace, through faith alone, not by works but true faith is actively expressed in deed. So then, how could we profess to know the Lord, yet have so little regard for those He is concerned about?

APPLICATION:

We need to remember the lesson of Lazarus and the rich man - how in this life, although the poor are marginalized, most often, they are in fact first into the kingdom while many who are have material abundance do not get in. Hence, where we have more than we need, we should take the opportunity to bless the poor where we can, learning to love them because the Lord loves them.

Practically, there are opportunities for us to get involved all around us, but it is up to us to take the initiative to find out where we can help. One ministry greatly admired is Kenosis Home who are active not only in Street Feeding programs to feed the poor and homeless but actively doing their best to bring in drug addicts off the streets to their rehab homes to cure them and reinstate them back to society. Also, SHELTER too has long been doing a great job in bringing up children who needed to leave homes where their parents had abused them. There are also many orphanages and old folk’s homes doing their best to help poor children or neglected old folk, and they too deserve our support and attention.

PRAYER:

We praise You and thank You, Lord, that You love the poor, and Your heart is always for them. Help us O Lord, to learn to love them like You love them, and to focus less on only our own individual lives but also to expand our horizons to look at the needs around us, and to become involved in helping the poor and needy, in what ways we can. Forgive us O Lord, where we have turned a blind eye. Help us and open doors we pray, so that we can become involved too in blessing those who need our help. We bless You and thank You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.