Do you Care for Orphans, Widows, the Poor And the Oppressed?
by Mihran Kulhanjian
My dear Friends,
It is good to be with you again on this path to holiness. I am writing a book which I have titled, Devoted to Christ: Caring for Orphans, Widows, the Poor and the Oppressed. This book has been on my heart for the past few years. If you know the Lord you know He has a special place in His heart for orphans, widows, the poor and the oppressed. As children of God, it is our responsibility to carry out His will, to care for, protect and minister to the fatherless, to provide for widows, and comfort the poor and oppressed. It is our responsibility as the children of God to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we take His name, we receive His Spirit in us. Therefore, we do the good works He did, and we do all in love. Not only do we confess with our mouth, we confess with our actions, proving we are indeed the true children of God and His witness'. Knowing that faith without works is dead. How many dead Christians do you know who go on breathing in the world; but nonetheless are dead? They profess to be Christian and confess the name Jesus, yet, what works do they do in His name. Are they fruitless? For they shall be know by their fruits. Are you known by your good works? Or, are you one of the fruitless, pretending to play Christian, professing His name which may not belong to you, for you do not keep His commandments nor do the works He commands. As Christians we should examine ourselves to prove we are in the faith.
As true and committed believers, we are dead to sin and alive in Christ. We become a living sacrifice for the Lord, to be good, perfect and acceptable, that we are worthy to carry His name, placed on the altar as a living sacrifice.
When we were saved and accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, His spirit [the Spirit of God] entered us. We were born again [John 3:3] with the Spirit of God now living in us, we have a responsibility, a duty, if we are undeniably devoted to Christ. Our spirit is made perfect in Christ, yet our physical body and our soul is a work in progress to be perfected at a later time. This is why, as new creatures in Christ [2 Corinthians 5:17], we progress and mature in the knowledge of God, diligently gaining His wisdom by renewing our mind with His Word daily and living a life confessing the commands of God, thus receiving with all joy His promises as His elect. Yes, God chooses us individually. He knew us before we were born and He set His plan for our lives. He knew you, specifically, would receive and accept His Son, Jesus Christ. And when you accepted His Son, He received you into His family, sanctifying you through His Son Jesus. You have been justified, and made righteous, through His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
As a member of the family, you receive the full inheritance. First, you receive life eternal. Your life begins the moment you received Jesus. Life eternal is knowing God and maturing in an intimate relationship with Him in this life, and receiving all the benefits thereof. After this life, you will be in the presence of the Lord in Heaven. Your spirit and soul live in a new place called heaven with all the saints who went before you. Our earthly body is buried, returned to the earth, only to be resurrected and made perfect at the rapture of the church (the dead in Christ will rise first). Your spirit and soul will be reunited with your new (perfect) body. If the rapture comes before your body dies, you will be taken up into the air with all the other saints currently alive (all true believers) on earth, and you will not see death. It will happen in a twinkling of an eye. Prepare yourself. This means you will not experience death of body as it is in the physical world. Be prepared. The rapture of the church could happen any moment. You do not want to be left on earth during the tribulation. Sadly, billions will be left. They have chosen to worship not the Lord, but other gods of all forms.
In the meantime, as we are citizens of this world, let's do the will of God, accepting our responsibility to care for the less fortunate in Christ's name.
We have a just, loving and merciful God. And we know God is harsh with anybody who harms orphans, widows, the poor and the oppressed. He is severe with those who look the other way to those who need help, who are suffering, who are unloved and many forgotten. We know God is love and that love overcomes all things, love overcomes evil. God wants us [true Christians] to love one another; to love other believers. He also wants us to love our neighbor, no matter who he is. He wants us to love our enemies. We fight evil with love. We overcome evil with the love we share. We fight the works of the devil with love. Victory comes to those whose love does not fail in time of need. Our love comes from our Lord, Christ, living in us. If we are indeed born again, as a new creation in Christ, our hearts for the oppressed should be softened, softened to a point where we cry out, "Abba Father, send me, use me, I am yours." And our minds, renewed with the love of Christ in us prevails till the end of the age.
When was the last time you wept for the poor and the hurting? When was the last time you wept and prayed for the orphans and widows? It is nice to attend church in the west and sing worship songs on Sunday. It is nice to eat fine food in a restaurant, to have a comfortable house and a friend or two you can rely on. But, there are millions who do not have these blessings. Is it their fault? Are they to blame? It doesn't matter who is at fault and it does not matter who is to blame. The evil one is the prince of this world and pain and suffering and impoverishment are his joy. We pass judgment on no one, lest we be judged with the same measure. But we, as true believers have the authority to give righteous judgment, not hypocritical judgment. We cannot undo the past. We love in the name of Christ and we follow Him and serve as He served. He came to serve and now as His disciple we serve, and love and obey the commands of our Lord. The words Jesus has spoken are of the spirit and of life. If we have life in us, we owe it to Jesus, for we were dead without Him; is He not our High Priest, our intercessor, pleading on our behalf to Almighty God, offering us sanctification, gifts and blessings? And He is the Holy One of God. He is our example who saved us, loved us, wanted us, redeemed us and reconciled us back to the Father. Should we not love unto others, for His teachings were not His own, but from God himself? Are we not ambassadors for Him? Should we not be imitators of our beloved Christ? God is trustworthy and He is faithful. We speak and do things which Jesus has taught us; if we are, in fact, His disciples.
You are no longer a slave to sin. For, we are not dead in sin, but dead to sin. Therefore, as legitimate children of God, with a born again Spirit of God in us, believe that we belong to God and as we belong to God, we glorify not ourselves but God, the Creator of all. When you do the will of God by caring for the little ones, the fatherless, the widow, the poor and the oppressed, you are following in the footsteps of Christ.
The works of God might be displayed in you when you care for the disadvantaged; when you comfort the orphan and widow, and feed and clothe the poor and support good things for the oppressed. Have your eyes been opened to the truth? Do you now see and hear the Lord and your calling. Having been chosen, He has set in your heart, specifically, to do the works He has commanded you to do? Have you neglected your responsibility as a Christian? Are living for Christ or are you living for yourself and the fleshly world? The pride of life is full of deception and filled with corruption. Don't fall into the trap as the backslider does.
In the Old Testament, God accepted the offering then the person. In the New Covenant, God, by His grace, accepts the person first then the offering. Has He filled you with His love, and wonder, that now you deprive this love to others, this love which was given freely and abundantly to you? Are you chosen to care for orphans or to make a home for them? "Do not be afraid," the angel of the Lord says. God is with you when you do God's work. Say yes. Yes! Send me. Use me. I fear not for You are with me always. You have now seen Him. He came into the world so the blind will see, the crippled will walk and dead will rise and live. Do you now see? He is the good Shepherd. And He has laid down His life so that we might have new life, not only that we see the truth but do the truth.
God has a special love for orphans. The word "fatherless" is noted forty times in the Old Testament. The word "orphans" is mentioned twice in the Old Testament and twice in the New Testament. Every time noted it stresses not to abuse, neglect, forget, discard or take advantage of orphans. The majority of the time, the word "fatherless" appears before the word "widow" within the Scriptures. But the first time the word fatherless is used the word widow precedes it: We see this in Exodus 22:22 as Moses reads the law:
"You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child."
Widows and fatherless children are vulnerable to abuse, neglect and are taken advantage of. There is no husband or father to defend them, to protect them, to care for them and love them, and to teach, instruct or train them up in the Word of God.
In the Word of God, we find together in many passages the words fatherless and widow. The fatherless and widows were and are in many societies among the poorest. And God tells us, He commands us to care for and protect them. In Deuteronomy 24:19 we are instructed to give and because we give, we are blessed in all the works.
“When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands"
In this book, Devoted to Christ, I give my commentary on specific Scriptures regarding orphans, widows, the poor and the oppressed, and stress the commands God gives us all to care for, protect and love all who are oppressed, living challenging lives caused, perhaps, in many ways by unwarranted circumstances. It is important to know what God says about these groups of peoples and what we must do for them. God has given to us freely all good things, including salvation; and we must freely give to others if we are indeed servants of our Lord and children of the living God. Can we do less? No. James wrote "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:14, 20, 26). Don't be dead in your faith. Let us love them all and let us show our love by kind words and bold action.
"Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."
─Matthew 18:5