Lending to the Lord

He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done. (Proverbs 19:17)

Duane Zook, Global Chairman of Global Aid Network, prays for a young earthquake victim, whose mother and father could not be found.

The recent cataclysmic earthquake in Haiti has galvanized much of the world into action, an amazing response that includes a number of supernatural components including seeing the hearts of several world leaders moved (Proverbs 21:1). Though hundreds of thousands were killed, millions were spared with remarkable testimonies of survival being shared for many days afterward.

Did you know that when you help someone who is poor that you are directly making a loan to God? Not that God needs anything from us, but He has set things up in this world to work through the hands of women and men to take our ordinary talents and multiply them into extraordinary blessings to those who have nothing.

But God rewards us for our kindness to the poor whether they be someone who has been dug out of the rubble in Port-au-Prince; an orphaned child in a desolate, war-torn land; or an elderly neighbor who is desperately trying to hold onto her home. When you help the poor, you are ministering to God.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matthew 25:35, 36)

Clearly, God gives us many chances to help people who are impoverished physically, spiritually, or both. Even if the world was somehow a place where everyone’s temporal needs were taken care of, the spiritual need would remain.

But our world is far from being that comfortable place as wars, famine, disease, corrupt governments, and a host of other reasons conspire to keep people down. Yes, you will even have a group of people who simply will not work, but I am not talking about them. Untold millions are poor, needing to be ministered to, but the workers are few though the harvest is great.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37-38)

You may not be called to go on a mission trip, but you certainly can be missional minded. That kind of thinking has you praying and taking action as the Lord leads, seeking for ways to make a difference in the lives of the poor, giving to God with the side benefit that you will be rewarded for your efforts.

Photo Credit: Global Aid Network (Campus Crusade for Christ)

Popularity: 13% [?]