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 is
currently working toward her Master’s in Counseling at the University of Minnesota-Twin
Cities. She has called Oakwood her home church for the past seventeen years.
