“I
Created You”
By Tracy Smith
“And the King will
say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my
brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”
Matthew 25:40 (NLT)
Driving
down the road, we heard these lyrics,
“Well,
I just couldn't bear the thought of
People living in poverty
People living in poverty
Children
sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, ‘God, why don't You do something?’
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, ‘God, why don't You do something?’
He
said, ‘I did, I created you’" [1,
emphasis mine]
“OUCH!”
I looked into the back of the van to see how my son could have possibly hurt
himself sitting in the seat. When I looked back, I realized that his
exclamation was in response to the song lyrics. Ouch, indeed!
It’s
daunting to think about poverty, human trafficking, slavery, homelessness,
addiction - - what can I possibly do
to help with these huge problems? Where do I start?
Prayer
is a first step. Pray for all these situations and for those caught in them,
but also pray that God would show you what you can do to help those in need.
You
also don’t have to start from scratch regarding what you can do to help. Look around
- - there are many organizations already in place that are doing this work.
Find out how you can volunteer. My church has a “Community Partnerships” page
on our website. This page lists the different organizations that our church
works with and supports. These organizations vary greatly in whom they help
(homeless, those who have been trafficked, those who need physical help, those
who need medical care), Pray about where God needs you and your talents to help
those in need…and then do something.
Remember
- - with God’s help you can make a difference!
GOING
DEEPER:
1. Those that attend Oakwood and are wondering
where they can help - - click HERE
to go to our Community Partnerships page and HERE
to go to our Mission:Hope page - - where would you fit it as a volunteer?
2. Those that don’t attend Oakwood, start with
Google and see what your local community/church has available.
FURTHER
READING:
[1]
Matthew West, “Do Something,” album: Into the Light, 2012. You can listen/watch
the song by clicking HERE.
Along with being a
wife and mother to two teenage boys, Tracy is a ministry assistant at Oakwood,
serves on the Women’s Ministry Special Events Team and works with a great group
of Junior High girls.
