Deuteronomy 22: 4“You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again.
When Spiritual faith Meets Physical need
The roots of Christian kindness run deep in the heart of the ground of our faith in God. Perhaps it is because no matter our external circumstances we know and understand the deep need and great deliverance that every believer in Christ has had met in the remarkable grace of our Lord Jesus. O believe that it is this recognition that compels us, as we love Jesus, to be a people who attempt to meet the need of others through kindness and help. That our performance in these things is often misdirected, or presumptuous and belittling to the very people we try to help is unfortunately the place where very often headstrong self-determination meets the fierce pride and dignity of the person or group we are attempting to help.
I am compelled once again to remember the words of the apostle Paul from first Corinthians 13 “Love is kind”. Well of course love is kind, but do you realize kindness can be a two-edged sword. Kindness does not happen in a vacuum. It is not enough to merely “hit and run” without acknowledging the ones you are helping. Trying to understand the person, being sensitive to the factors which may have contributed to the current need, these are the deeper roots of Christian kindness that Jesus modeled and encouraged for his disciples. This is perhaps the “second mile” (Matthew 5:41) we feel lurking at the back door of our consciousness.
Do not be misled. It is not merely enough to give of your substance to meet a need. We should also give our hearts to those for whom Jesus died. Even up to and including our enemies. This is hard. It makes me to stand in awe of my God whose heart is so great and complex that I realize it will take a lifetime of walking before him before I can even begin to comprehend his amazing love.
Larry M Lawrence- Mysteries 