Enter in...

"But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land's afflicted."
Isaiah 11:4

If we believe these words of Isaiah are foretelling the coming of Jesus it's interesting to check the Gospels for how this actually played out. Seeing how Jesus judged the poor with justice and decided aright for the land's afflicted, we have all the answers we need. Jesus took special interest in the poor and afflicted. Those were the people he looked for--people on the fringe, people others had already written off. And then, in Matthew 25:35-40, we hear Jesus say, "For I was hungry and you gave me food..." Jesus not only sought out and ministered to the poor and afflicted, but Jesus identifies himself with them! So Jesus judges and decides aright for the poor by becoming poor and afflicted himself. Phew, that's a lot to take in! What does it tell us how we are to behave and live our lives? For me, it seems to make it harder to serve God's people from an ivory tower. We need to identify and become one with who we are to serve. It means living more simply and generously, rolling up our sleeves to help whomever, whenever we can. Providing monetary support is one way, but maybe we are to enter in more fully than just writing a check. That seems to be the lesson for me this sunny, yet frosty Boise morning! Love, heidi