Have you?
The Talmud states,
“When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not, “Have you believed in God?” Or “Have you prayed and observed the ritual? “He is asked: “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?”The Talmud.
Jesus told this story,
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house,
for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
“ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” Luke 16:19-31.
As I write this the world seems to be in turmoil the likes of which have not been seen since world war two. Refugees are running from conflicts all over the world. In the middle east and Africa they are running from war and terrorism. In Central America they are running away from drug lords and gangs that threaten their lives.
All are running to the western democracies in numbers that are seemingly overwhelming the ability of those democracies to handle them.
Not only that there appears to be a backlash swelling up against these people. Some nations even closing their borders to them.
Yet these refugees are not the cause of the problem. They are the result of evil men who wish to impose their evil ungodly ways on others.
Closing borders will not end the refugee problem. Only dealing with the root cause of the problem will do that.
However until that happens the governments of the world, and we as individuals who are in a position to help, need to help those in need.
I believe be it our nations leaders or we as individuals who can help the poor and oppressed will be held accountable for our actions to those less fortunate.
That is doubly so for those of us who claim to be believers in Christ Jesus. James the half brother of Jesus wrote,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” James 2:14-20.
We as individuals may not be able, (beyond giving financial aid), to help refugees running from wars and other conflicts.
We however can help on a local level those who are less fortunate.
We can volunteer with various agencies around your town or city that help the less fortunate, the poor, the sick, the needy, thus showing the love of Jesus in a tangible way.
The way I see it if we as believers in Christ Jesus, believers in God, don’t do what we can to help those in need. God will hold us accountable.
Please think about it.
The Talmud states,
“When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not, “Have you believed in God?” Or “Have you prayed and observed the ritual? “He is asked: “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?”The Talmud.
Jesus told this story,
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house,
for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
“ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” Luke 16:19-31.
As I write this the world seems to be in turmoil the likes of which have not been seen since world war two. Refugees are running from conflicts all over the world. In the middle east and Africa they are running from war and terrorism. In Central America they are running away from drug lords and gangs that threaten their lives.
All are running to the western democracies in numbers that are seemingly overwhelming the ability of those democracies to handle them.
Not only that there appears to be a backlash swelling up against these people. Some nations even closing their borders to them.
Yet these refugees are not the cause of the problem. They are the result of evil men who wish to impose their evil ungodly ways on others.
Closing borders will not end the refugee problem. Only dealing with the root cause of the problem will do that.
However until that happens the governments of the world, and we as individuals who are in a position to help, need to help those in need.
I believe be it our nations leaders or we as individuals who can help the poor and oppressed will be held accountable for our actions to those less fortunate.
That is doubly so for those of us who claim to be believers in Christ Jesus. James the half brother of Jesus wrote,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” James 2:14-20.
We as individuals may not be able, (beyond giving financial aid), to help refugees running from wars and other conflicts.
We however can help on a local level those who are less fortunate.
We can volunteer with various agencies around your town or city that help the less fortunate, the poor, the sick, the needy, thus showing the love of Jesus in a tangible way.
The way I see it if we as believers in Christ Jesus, believers in God, don’t do what we can to help those in need. God will hold us accountable.
Please think about it.
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