And What About the Others?

The faces keep coming back to me.

I was scrambling to put together the last few articles for the next issue of the magazine. I had the copy for a brochure on our relief and rehabilitation program to write. Then there was the prep for that Bible study on the 6th commandment. All the pieces came together when I remembered the intense discussion our congregation in Caracas had gone through years ago when we were choosing a name for our church. We eventually settled on Isaiah 58:11 and named the church “The Spring.” Sometime after the decision was made I looked at the context of the passage and had an “aha” moment—a moment that came back as I put together the magazine, wrote the copy, and prepared the Bible Study.

Bill Hybels (and others) mentioned in his comments about the sixth commandment, “You shall not kill,” that we can kill by neglect, neglect of those who are dying of illness or hunger when we have the resources to help them live. The promise from the passage in Isaiah from which we chose our church’s name is contingent on looking after the needs of the oppressed, the poor and the naked. The article for the magazine and the copy for the brochure were about children in refugee camps in Somalia.

“The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail” —Isaiah 58:11, NIV.

“Success,” whatever we apply the word to and however we interpret it, depends on how we respond to the needs of others. God’s blessing on our lives and on the communities with which we fellowship, depends on how we care for those who can’t care for themselves.

It’s an “aha” moment. Now to respond to it.