I had an incredible revelation the other day sitting in church. It was one of those thoughts that made me giggle at our God.
Have you ever thought about the numerous times God mentions specifically caring for orphans and widows throughout the Bible? Repeatedly, God reminds us that we are to take care of these people. Check this out:
“You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to Me, and I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will burn, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.” -God in Exodus 22:22 – 24
“Pure and undefiled religion before our God is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” James 1:27
Apparently God is pretty serious about this. While I firmly believe that God does mean for us to take care of the widows and orphans quite literally, we need to consider this command to be quite literal, my revelation exists in the figurative realm.
Ok, so you’ve got in your head that God wants us to care for the widows and orphans. Now think about two of the greatest names for God. First, God is a Father. Even Jesus referred to God as his Abba, Father. Second, Christ is called the Bridegroom of the Church; He is the Husband of the Church. So that means that anyone who does not know God personally and who is not covered by the saving blood of Jesus Christ qualifies as one of these “orphans and widows” we are supposed to be caring for.
My thinking is that if taking care of widows and orphans was something that came naturally to us, God would not have bothered to repeatedly remind his people of this need throughout history. So taking care of widows and orphans, whether figuratively or literally, is something I’m going to have to consciously work on. Now, being the ripe old age of 23, I find that I don’t know many widows, and I can’t really think of any orphans that I personally know. But I do know plenty of people that are Fatherless. The guy behind the counter at Starbucks, for example.
Reality Check – There are more people starving for God than there are people starving for food. So feed the hungry.
“A father of the fatherless and a champion of widows is God in his holy dwelling.”
Psalm 68:5
