I have on more than one occasion been criticized for being too critical of the church. I figure there may be some truth to this accusation and for this I apologize. We all tend to be more critical of those we love the most and I promise you, I love the church dearly.
It might be perceived that the mission of Arms of Compassion is simply to minister to the needs of the less fortunate. Though that is no doubt a big part of what we do, it is not all we are about. My dream is just as much to inspire and equip the local church to compassion ministry itself as it is to elicit its support.
The scriptures are replete with admonitions to the church to care for the needy. Jesus said loving our neighbor is the most important thing the believer can do next to loving God. James 1:27 says the greatest test of our religion is how we treat the widow and orphan.
In Matthew 25 we read about the final judgment of Christ. In this passage we are not judged according to our piety, our church attrndance, or even our personal holiness. It is not how often we prayed, sang praises, or even shared the gospel. And church, it is not how many we have in attrndance, how immaculate our facilities are, or even how well we support denominational ministries. Don't get me wrong, all those are of tremendous significance. In this passage though Christ says we will be judged according to how we have treated the needy in our midst.
When he addresses the needy, he is very explicit as to who he is referring to:
Matthew 25:41-43
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
In today's society, this list could include maybe the beggar on the street corner, the homeless sleeping under the bridge, the immigrants that are sleeping in their car at the rest stop (some translations render the term stranger as alien), your child's classmate who has no coat for the wintry cold, the AIDS patient in the hospital, or even the drug pushers retained in the county jail. In essense it is saying that if you do not extend compassion to the needy, you will be cast into eternal damnation. I know that sounds harsh, but that is pretty much what the passage says.
Yet, with over 400 passages admonishing the church to care for the needy, with Christ saying compassion for our neighbor is next only to our love for God, Him outlining specificallywho we should be ministering to, and His damnation of those who do not heed His call to care, the church still seems oblivious to the plight of the less fortunate. We build our fancy buildings in our well to do neighborhoods, yet ignore the poverty stricken neighborhoods across town. We develop our church programs based on a desire to fill a pew and ignore the social and compassion needs of even our own surrounding conmunity. We send our missionaries overseas to preach the gospel to the unreached yet ignore the plight of the starving amongst those we preach to. Need I say more?
I am sure I offend some with these words. For that I am sorry. I love you my brothers and sisters in Christ. Some of you will agree with my words while others will be outraged. I praise God there are many churches that hear the cry and heed the call to care. I seek His forgiveness and His intervention on behalf of those who ignore it.
It is time though the church heed the the call to care. Let us reevaluate our priorities and reach out to the needy in our communities. Let us go beyond simply preaching the gospel and let us practice the compassion it entails. Let us feed the hungry, provide shelter to the homeless, and embrace the lonely. Let us truly be the Arms of Compassion. Let us be the arms, hands, and feet of our loving and caring Savior Jesus Christ.
With sincere love,
John Hewett, Executive Director
Arms of Compassion
PS For more information on how you can help reach the needy in your community and around the world visit us at www.armsofcompassion.com.
