REACHING OUT TO THOSE WHO NEED US

Religion that God accepts as pure is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress James 1:27 TOD ! "aturda#$ "eptem%er 12$ 2&&' (salm 1)* Re+, rthur J, "choon+eld

-n the .i%le God/s care for people who cannot help themsel+es is unmistaka%le, Toda#/s psalm tells us that God 0watches o+er the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow,1 Jesus tells us that whate+er we do for such people we do for 2im 34atthew 25:)&6, -n those da#s widows had no rights$ and few people$ if an#$ went out of their wa# to help them, Orphans were often left to fend for themsel+es without an#one reall# caring, -f James were writing to us toda#$ he might also mention single parents$ special7needs children$ the un%orn$ migrant workers$ the elderl#$ and an# others in our societ# who are left to fend for themsel+es$ who ha+e no one to speak up for them, -t/s eas# to walk past people who need our help, father of a special7needs daughter once told me that in all the #ears that the# had cared for her no one in their church had asked if the# needed an# help, The parents ne+er once could go to church together %ecause no one e+er offered to sta# with their child, sk a widow o+er for "unda# dinner, Take a widow out for lunch, 4ake a contri%ution to an orphanage, Offer to sta# with a special7needs child to gi+e the parents a much7needed %reak, "peak up for those who cannot speak for themsel+es, That/s 0religion that God our 8ather accepts as pure and faultless1 3James 1:276,

(ra#er: 8ather in hea+en$ open our e#es to see the needs of people who need our care, 2elp us to show the compassion of our "a+ior, -n 2is name we pra#, men,