Sun 9:30a Class; 10:30a Worship; 11:35a Communion
Bible Bites
A Poor Approach
“For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish, you can do good to them…” (Mark 14:7)
Right in the midst of preparing the disciples for the fact that He is soon to be killed, Jesus throws in this little tidbit about helping the poor. He says two very powerful things:
“You always have the poor” – poverty is a constant universal problem, but that doesn’t mean Christians shouldn’t try and solve it SPECIFICALLY. Yes, we will always have the poor with us, but Jesus fed the poor, cared for them, and His disciples were used to seeing Him do so. Jesus didn’t throw up His hands because the problem was so big; He teaches us to get our hands dirty and serve where we can to alleviate the problem for someone… even if we can’t do it for everyone.
“Whenever you wish” – the problem with doing good is rarely that there aren’t enough opportunities. The problem is a shortage of volunteers. If we wish to do good, there are lots of ways to do so all around us. Widows who need help, young families who could use babysitters, food kitchens to volunteer at, and neighbors’ lawns to mow. Thousands of little everyday acts of help and service are available all the time.
The two ideas Jesus brings together is that there ALWAYS will be a need for us to DO something about.
Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites
