Information Related to "You Can Make a Difference!"
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Virtual Christian Magazine Editorial You Can Make a Difference! By Victor Kubik Some shy away from doing anything about the sickening problems of our world because one can easily ask, "Where do I start? What can I do that will make any kind of difference?" Others don't involve themselves in fixes for this present world. With the hope of Christ's return to straighten out the problems of society in the future world, we can easily hide our eyes from problems knowing that in God's timetable all is under control and that we really can't add much to the process. In our estimation, we are not responsible. And who knows? We may not be helping the most needy or qualified anyway. Both of these attitudes yield inaction. We can easily become the Levite and the priest in the parable of the Good Samaritan in the 10th chapter of the book of Luke. They SAW and LOOKED, but went on their way (Luke 10:31-32). They figured that eventually someone would come along to do something about the assaulted and robbed man lying by the road. Are we responsible to help with the needs of the needy? Yes! We are MORE than responsible. Reading the 25th chapter of Matthew and starting with verse 31, the issue of Christians caring for the destitute appears to be a high priority item in God's check-off list for continuing an eternal relationship with us. To those who feed the hungry and clothe the poor, Christ gives this statement of reward: "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34). The converse is stated in verse 41: "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." The reason? "For I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me" (Matthew 25:42-43, New King James Version). These are the Levite and the priest of Luke 10 who saw and looked, but did nothing. Can you make a difference? The answer is YES! You can choose to grant life to a child or you can allow poverty, lack of medicine, malnutrition and plagues to continue to kill people, mostly children. We have been helping with projects to help people in developing countries such as Malawi, Zambia, Guatemala, Ukraine and the Philippines, and these projects have yielded successful results. Have we solved those nations' problems with poverty? No, we have not. But we have made a difference in the lives of thousands of people and have saved many children from death by malnutrition. Sometimes all it takes to save a child is some medicine for diarrhea. Right now we are building a clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi, that will make a difference for hundreds of people. The photo on the right shows the progress made with the help of many contributors. In this case, for $20,000 we can build a clinic that would cost many times that amount in Western countries. We are sending a 20-ton container with food, medicine, hospital equipment and much more. Many of the costs are underwritten by cooperating agencies and the U.S. government. In Guatemala we are helping impoverished people who are living on dirt floors by pouring concrete floors. In Zambia we are helping replenish cattle wiped out by disease three years ago. In Ukraine we have initiated micro-loan programs for people to borrow small amounts of money to buy items such as tools that will help them make a living. They repay the loan and then we can help someone else. Everyone wins. We can make a difference in the lives of people and actively fulfill an important Christian obligation to help. We do not look away from the needy. To find out more about these various programs that are making a dramatic difference in the lives of people, please take a look at our work at www.lifenets.org. Copyright 2000 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved. |
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Keywords: helping serving good samaritan LifeNets needy
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