Habits of Jesus Day 16: Helping the Poor

The poor are in our lives. They may be poor in money, poor in spirit or poor in opportunity. They are often oppressed and taken advantage of. They live in every country around the world.

Zaccheus was an oppressor. Tax collectors of that day often took more tax than was owed and that extra amount went into their own bank account. But meeting Jesus made a huge difference in his life. He would no longer be the cause of ruination for the poor.

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man there, called Zaccheus, was a chief tax collector and he was rich. He was trying to see Jesus, but because he was short in stature, he was unable to see through the crowd. So he climbed a sycamore tree to see Him as He passed that way. When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”  And he came down joyfully. The people complained that Jesus was going to be the guest of a sinner. But Zaccheus said, “Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. If I have extorted from anyone, I will give them four times as much back.” And Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house, to this son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19: 1-10

Jesus went anywhere and everywhere to seek and save the lost. And along the way, He saved many of the poor. We do have too many poor people in America, but even our poor have access to riches the rest of the world could only dream about.

Is there an anywhere and everywhere place that God keeps putting on your heart? 

For me, in the 80’s and 90’s, it was China. The last frontier. A country of unbelievers and a country where it was illegal to believe. A country where Christians were sent to prison, killed or systematically reduced to poverty. My first touch was a travel week in Hong Kong in 1980 after a summer-long mission trip to the Philippines. Then, as a manager for the US-China Education Foundation in 1982, I traveled all over China, studied Chinese and set up language programs at small colleges. American Christians could now study Chinese and share Christ and their lives in an intimate environment with other Chinese college students. A friend, Bei Bei, became a Christian. Her parents were fired as school principals and had to move to the shed of their family home. She eventually married and moved to Germany. Her parents never blinked. They had been blessed through their daughter.

For you, it probably won’t mean actually traveling to a foreign country. Maybe interacting with the poor on a mission trip is possible. Maybe you could adopt a child overseas or help someone else do that. Support a poor child or family and bring them into your life or help someone else go on a mission trip to help the poor..

Pray consistently for that anywhere and everywhere place that God might put on your heart!

What specific interaction with the world’s poor might He be calling you to have? 

Lord, Your lost people are everywhere. Those that are oppressed and poor need to be sought out, wherever they are. Show me how I may be a part of their salvation and help them embrace change in their lives. Amen.