Loving the Brethren

A prophet "named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would be a famine all over the known world...And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. And this they did..." (Acts 11:27-30).

It is a great tragedy that in our nation today, multitudes of professing Christians live in abundance, and yet do so little to "send relief" to our brethren around the world, who live in absolute poverty. Some of you reading this may be uninformed, and to your credit your ignorance up until now may have been a means of justification for your inactivity in this regards. Others of you are fully aware of how destitute such a large number of our brothers and sisters in Christ live, materially speaking; even to the point of going without food, having but one meal a day, suffering winter weather without adequate clothing, walking miles and miles just to attend church services, walking barefoot on rough terrain, not having a roof to sleep under for seasons of their lives, etc. etc. etc. In light of that, let me be very frank with you: are you so shallow in your Christian experience that you just don't care enough about your brethren to send relief according to the available proportion of means you have? If you are convicted by this, I am all the more. I am not exempt here. I myself am not a super-saint, who fasts frequently from spending on vain pleasures in order to help relieve my precious family in Christ of difficulties. But I can tell you this, time and again God has revealed to me that it is selfishness alone which causes my memory of such realities, that my brethren suffer, to slip, as I save and spend on things which will be consumed on the Last Day.

Maybe you can relate: have you ever saved your money to buy something, and then when you finally got it you realized it wasn't all you hoped it would be? It didn't satisfy your soul as you subconsciously deceived yourself into thinking it would? I sure have. In fact, I stock my library with books and more books, the half of which I won't get to for at least a few years. Couldn't that money, the fruits of which I couldn't taste for a time anyways, be better spent? Buying great Christian literature is absolutely definable as living for eternity, but not when I buy in excess. If God has blessed us with an abundance, then is it not for the purpose of spending it for His glory, and not for mere vain, carnal pleasures? For Paul himself says, in the context of Christian Giving, "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance FOR EVERY GOOD DEED" ( 2 Corinthians 9:8).

I want to bring to your attention a ministry that I love dearly, and hope God will inspire you to give to monthly. That ministry is called "The Voice of the Martyrs". You can find them on the web at: http://www.persecution.com/ This ministry, and my involvement in it, has tremendously blessed my life. One example...a young girl was walking to a church gathering in her village when her and two of her friends were attacked my masked Hindus. The Hindu men were yielding machetes; they killed this girls two friends. She was attacked brutally and left with severe damage to her head and face. Within a week she had been able to see a local Voice of The Martyrs doctor, who, because of the fundings available through the ministry, was able to operate on the girl and enable her to eat properly and talk with little to no pain (which things she wouldn't otherwise have been able to do because of the injuries). The Voice of the Martyrs doctors are funded by people like you and me. This is just one of the thousands of ministries they provide for Christians who live under difficult circumstances.

Their monthly newsletter leaves me in tears every time I read it for four reasons:

1. The situations and conditions of life that so many of our brethren face each day are difficult to say the least.

2. So few Americans are aware of, or pay any attention to, these people who are their brethren, and who they're called to love.

3. I am so self-centered, and so often fail to pray and provide (to the extent I am able to) for these brethren of mine.

4. These Christians have such powerful testimonies, which primarily reveal to us that the true treasures of eternal life have no connection to current material blessings and prosperity, and are experienced by these suffering believers in ways that provokes me to holy jealousy. Their love for Christ, and His faithfulness to manifest Himself to them, makes me cry tears of joy and thankfulness to God.

Let this stir you to seek out the heart of God for His people, and how you might manifest this glorious love through sacrificial giving. Friends, let this not hit you as a sweeping condemnation that I lay at the feet of the church in America. The VOM ministry itself testifies of the many saints of God who support His work through them. I know that God is faithfully using His people in America. But let me also say this, we have reason to examine our stewardship. When we live in luxury and abundance, while so many live in poverty, we must ask ourselves individually if we're truly loving our neighbors as ourself, if we're Biblically loving our brethren, and if we're truly reflecting the life and love of Jesus Christ, who "being rich, made Himself poor". We are susceptible to the temptations and vanities of this world. Be not enticed carnally to live for yourself and for this life, but instead store up for yourselves wealth and prosperity in heaven. Glorify God through giving, even sacrificially. Let the world stand judged for their selfishness, and let the children of God evidence the grace of faith given unto them by God their Savior, through being increasingly conformed to the image of Christ Jesus.

"If anyone does not forsake all that he has, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33).