Now that I have seen, I am responsible.

There’s a song by Brooke Ligertwood that has the lyric, “Now that I have seen, I am responsible.”

I heard that quote at the Passion 2023 conference in January and I have not stopped thinking about it since.

There’s a new movie that just came out in theaters called Ordinary Angels. It’s about a small-town hairdresser who felt the heavy burden and desire to help a recently widowed father with an extremely ill daughter. The cost of the medical bills from his late wife’s illness had him drowning in debt and the cost of his daughter’s medical bills was going to add to that debt A LOT.

The kick in the story is that she didn’t even know this man until she read about his story in the newspaper. And once she read about his journey, she felt compelled to do something.

I watched the trailer for this movie, and I couldn’t help but shed a tear. I tried to contain it, but that’s just against my nature lol.

Deuteronomy 15:11 says, “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore, I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’”

So many people need help, but so many people overlook these individuals. I go to church in a community where people are truly hurting due to so many different reasons, but for some reason, we (and I am including myself in this) ignore it all.

We can’t ignore this anymore.

So many people want to serve God and do mission work, but get this: your mission field is the community you are a part of. Your life is a mission field.

Start doing what God created us to do and spread the Good News by helping other people. Help them heal their pain by showing them WHO can heal their pain.

Recognize that the people around you are also children of God. God carefully knitted these hurting people in their mother’s womb – they are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14).

Jesus put it this way in Matthew 25:35-40,

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

There's a statue in Charleston, WV of a homeless man laying on a park bench. He has a blanket covering his body and face so we have no idea who he is until we look at his feet. And we see that there is one hole in each foot, telling us that this homeless person is Jesus Christ. Look at this statue with compassion and charity. We know for a fact that Jesus would look at us that way if we were that homeless person laying on the bench. We must see Jesus in every person we meet and take action to help those people.

Have you recently seen something that makes you feel compelled to help?

Do you feel like you are responsible to help these children of God who desperately need the light of God in their life?

I hope this post encourages and inspires you to do what God deeply desires for you to do.

Submit a connect card if you are looking for ways to help your community – we will come up with ideas together!