Volume 1, No. 9 September 4, 2005
Does Jesus Care?
C. A. Burcham
Sometimes when men and women are confronted with an especially severe distress, an anguished lament may break forth. “No one cares; no one understands.” It only seems so! It is often true that many relatives, friends and even acquaintances are gravely concerned. In any event it is never true to say “no one cares.” Jesus does. It was Jesus who said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). His love and concern for Jerusalem was so great he said, “…how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wing,…” (Matt. 23:37, King James Version). Peter said, “Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you” (I Peter 5:7). The Hebrew writer reminds us “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). The Scriptures assure us of the constant love and care of the Lord.
It just may be that we who cry out are those who do not understand. The Lord does not cause pain, anguish, distress, and disappointment. Sin does that and the Lord is against sin. However, the Lord has not told us that He will unconditionally protect us from the consequences of sin. As long as sin is in the world, it will have an influence. Peter warns of the threat the devil poses (I Peter 5:8). When and if the Christian loses faith and blames the Lord, the devil is pleased for he has won a victory. We are assured that if we are steadfast in the faith, we will be victorious over all the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:11; I Peter 5:9).
Jesus knows our every weakness and He wants to strengthen us. He will often do so by using those who have made His word their guide. His word will work in us to help, encourage, and love one another. Indeed, He cares and those who are His, care. As the song with this title states, “Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief.”
What Can We Do?
Robert Davenport
I wanted to follow up this article by brother Burcham with the question you see above. We have all been horrified and saddened at the images of the tragic results of Hurricane Katrina this past week in the gulf coast regions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, but especially the incredible devastation in the city of New Orleans and the mindless politicizing of this tragedy and mass suffering. It will undoubtedly take months and perhaps years to restore living conditions and businesses in New Orleans, Gulfport, Mississippi, and in other places.
Several of you have asked the question “What can we do?” since Wednesday evening Bible study. I have read lots of emails since Tuesday asking the same questions from an email group I am a member of called Brethren Online. Brethren from all over the country are asking brethren in Louisiana and Mississippi what they can do to help Christians in those areas. The men here at Bell Road will probably discuss this question to some extent tonight in our monthly business meeting. There is a lot that any of us can do. What I would like to do in this article is remind us all of what the Bible teaches concerning showing benevolence (aid) to needy Christians and non-Christians and what we as Christians can do.
We here at Bell Road believe that God’s Word teaches us that the funds we collect every Lord’s Day are to be used for the purposes of evangelism (both here and abroad), benevolence to needy Christians here and in other places, and for edification (our teaching program and helping each other grow spiritually). We find such purposes to be expressed in Ephesians 4:11-12. The New Testament also gives us examples of how the early Christians (through the teaching of the apostles who were inspired by the Holy Spirit) took care of needy Christians in their own areas and in other areas of the world and how they helped non-Christians with their needs.
In Acts 2:44-45 and Acts 4:32-37, we see the first Christians in the church at Jerusalem selling land and possessions and dividing the proceeds and supplies with needy saints among them, with the help of the apostles. In Acts 11:27-30, when the Christians in Antioch heard of the famine which was occurring in Judea, they determined “each according to his ability, to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea” (verse 29). They sent this “relief” to the elders of the churches of Judea by the hands of Barnabas and Paul (not through a “sponsoring” church or organization). Although we collect money on the first day of the week to accomplish evangelistic, benevolent, and edification purposes and use I Corinthians 16:1-2 and other passages to teach the scripturalness of a congregational “treasury”, the primary purpose of Paul’s teaching in I Corinthians 16 revolved around the “collection for the saints”. Therefore, along with the examples we read about in 2 Corinthians 8-9, we see that congregations of Christians in the first century distributed aid to needy Christians from the “treasureries” of their local congregations. We will be investigating ways in which we can help needy Christians from our treasury who have suffered significant loss from the hurricane.
At the same time, however, the early Christians were also taught by the apostles that individuals could help anyone in time of need. In Galatians 6:10, as Paul talked about different responsibilities that individual Christians bear to one another and to themselves, he stated “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” James, in chapter 1 of his epistle, not only spoke to individual Christians about being obedient and active children of God but also told them that “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (verse 27). Jesus, in Matthew 22:37-40, taught a Jewish lawyer that the second great commandment (after he told him to love God with all his soul and mind) was “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) teaches us that the Lord is pleased with His people who help needy individuals who have faced tragedies and losses in their lives instead of just sitting idly by. Let us also not forget our Lord’s strong teaching about helping our fellow man as he gave us a picture of the Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46).
There are many ways, therefore, in which we as individual Christians can also help many others who have been severely affected. Even if you can’t help with money or supplies (food, etc.), all of us can pray fervently and often for all of these fellow human beings, many of whom have lost loved ones, jobs, homes, etc. We will be sharing ideas by which each one of us can lend our help and support in the coming days and weeks. Please feel free to share any ideas any of you may have. Let me close this article also by saying that each one of us should thank our heavenly Father that we are safe and that He has given us means by which we can answer the question I posed in the beginning. I concur with brother Burcham and say that Jesus does care and so do we!!