It Is Spring
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27 (NIV)
Every day on his way to and from work, David Ogilvy, a copywriter, would pass a blind man and would hardly notice him. One morning, the man’s sign caught his attention. It said, “I am blind, please help.” He realised that the man’s donation cup was empty. He took the man’s sign and rewrote it. When he left his office, he passed the blind man and noticed his donation cup was no longer empty, but overflowing with money. The sign next to the man now read, “It is spring, and I am blind.” These words touched the passersby's hearts. It fuelled their emotions. They became empathetic. They felt the desire to give. They realised this man was a human being like them, but with physical limitations. They realised that they had been blessed with sight. They could behold the beauty of Spring. He could not.
We can, just like those passersby, so easily walk past someone in need of help without batting an eyelid. We become desensitised, as it were, to others’ needs. Our emotions are blunted, and we don’t see the other person. We don’t respond to their cry for help. But God responds differently. He responds with the loving and kind heart of a Father who desires to be there for all mankind (Psalm 68:5).
Our Defender
He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. Deuteronomy 10:18 (NIV)
God is our defender. He defends and fights for those who are unable to defend themselves. He makes sure they receive the justice they deserve. He is benevolent towards them. He gives them what they need.
David Ogilvy was skilful with words. He knew that the seven words he wrote on the blind man’s placard would evoke people’s emotions. While Ogilvy’s words were provocative, God’s Words should provoke us even more. They should provoke us to help those in need. It should provoke us to respond with compassion and kindness.
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17 (NIV)
God is inviting us to be his hands and feet here on earth. Let us emulate our heavenly Father and see those in need through our Father’s loving eyes. Let us see them as our brother or sister, made in the image of God. Let our actions not be a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1), but a display of Christ’s unfailing and eternal love. Let His love provoke us to give. And when we cannot give ‘silver or gold,’ a smile or a kind word may be all they need in that moment to see the beautiful colours of spring again.
Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8 (NIV)
Reflection:
Will you allow God to use you to touch the lives of those in need?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me not to turn a blind eye to the vulnerable in society. Help me to love them and be Your hands and feet. Show me how I can extend Your love to them. Help me to extend grace and kindness to them in Jesus’ name, amen.
