Hands
and Feet
By Brita Crouse
“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)
They
are everywhere. They are seen daily on the news. They are discussed by our
friends and neighbors. They live in our communities. They pass us by without our
even realizing. Who are “they”? The oppressed. “They” are those who are
hurting, lost, and in need of Jesus.
Jesus
commands us to care for the oppressed. His Word is teeming with these charges.
Why? Maybe because He knew that, for all time, people would be suffering and in
need of Him.
God
has been convicting me to follow this command more diligently in my daily life.
Why should I be so blessed when so many around me are in need? Shouldn’t I be
sharing Jesus with these people who are desperate for a Savior?
Recently,
I’ve had the opportunity to be obedient to this command toward victims of
horrors I cannot even fathom. Every Wednesday night, I make the 30-minute drive
to a center for abused women and children. Here, I have the blessing of being
an advocate for children who have been victimized in their own homes.
Why
do I do this? Because I want to? No, most nights my selfish human nature tries
to convince me that I am too tired after a long day of work to do anything of
worth. Because it’s fun? Not always. Many times I have left the center in
tears, either from frustration or grief for the things these children have
witnessed. Because I am paid to do it? Nope, I actually lose money in all the
gas I use driving back and forth!
I do
this because I am called to, and the One who is calling me is the One who
created those children; the One who never intended for their lives to be full
of suffering; the One who wants to be made known to each of them. Here, I feel
as if God is using me for what I was created to do. Here, I get to be His hands
and feet. That’s why I do it.
In
some way, it has been communicated to these kids that they are unloved and
unwanted, so when my greatest commandment is to love, how could I not obey?
Take
the opportunities you are given to be obedient and become the hands and feet of
Jesus to the oppressed. In return, you will be blessed more innumerably than
you could ever imagine.
GOING
DEEPER:
1. Who can you reach out to this week?
2. What are local ministries/organizations that
you can plug into?
FURTHER
READING:
Brita recently graduated from Taylor
University with a degree in Psychology, and is currently a helper for Oakwood’s
Quest 56 and the Just Among Moms weekly childcare team.
