Mar. 1: DOES ANYONE HEAR?

Remember the old philosophical debate question: “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” I heard a variation of that: “If a child falls down in the desert and dies of starvation, does anyone hear?” We are being emotionally overloaded with vivid pictures in various media of people dying while trying to escape to freedom. Does anyone notice? Jesus said in Matthew 10:30 (NIV) “even the very hairs of your head are numbered” and God knows about your situation.
We are reminded that God knows when a sparrow falls so He obviously knows when a person falls because people are more valuable than birds. We would have to conclude that even if a poor peasant dies in the wilderness because of hunger that God notices. I was recently confronted by the question “How can you worship a homeless man on Sunday but not care for the homeless on Monday?” It was a legitimate question. It seems easier in this materialistic society for us to throw away our surplus than to share it.
We could all use more sensitive ears to hear the cry of the needy. God said “I command you to be open-handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in our land.” (Deuteronomy 15:11 NIV)
This is a spiritual issue for every true believer. “And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will see that they get justice and quickly.” (Luke 18:7-8 NIV) In the Bible there is a direct relationship between spirituality and working to help the poor and hungry. In this land of plenty, every person should be fed. Does your church minister to the hungry? Get involved with hunger. It’s the God-like thing to do.

“Father, every week I get several mailings asking me for money to help
feed the hungry somewhere. How can I best respond to these? Amen”