Want To Be Tight With God? Do Your Part To Care For Widows & Orphans

James 1:27; John 14:18

Soul Food

James 1:27

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” 

John 14:18, 19

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live.”

Soul Search

• Are you someone – or do you know someone – who has been left ‘orphaned’ by the departure of one or both of your parents when you were a child?
  Can you talk about it?
  Do you remember what it felt like to have your Mom or your Dad - or both - leave you?

• Do you have a friend or extended family member who was abandoned by a parent?
  Have you ever had the chance to talk to them about their experience?

• Take some time to think about who you might know who has been affected by a parent leaving (children you know) or affected by having a spouse leave either by desertion or death.
  Have you ever reached out to those children or that adult with an attitude of wanting to help them in some way?

Soul Moves

• If you’re married, talk with your spouse about helping widows and orphans.
  Decide together what that might look like and how you can partner together in those ministries in a healthy way for each of you and for your marriage.

• Life experiences, like having one or both parents leave you at a younger age, can leave an impression on you that ‘marks’ you and gives you a heart and compassion for those who are orphaned.
  If you haven’t had that experience, and can’t necessarily relate to it, and yet you want to serve God in the ways that are important to Him, then it’s important that you ask God to give you a heart of concern and compassion for orphans and widows.

• When people come to your mind who have been orphaned or abandoned, decide you’re going to check on them and see if they might need something that you would be able to help them with.
  Giving financial help is great but go deeper than simply writing a check.
  Ask God if there is a deeper need emotionally or spiritually that you might be able to meet and that you would be willing to sacrifice the time and energy to help meet.

• Ask God to give you ideas for helping orphans:
  Take a child shopping for back-to-school supplies and clothing.
  Include that child in sports that your own child is involved in.
  Be willing to pick that child up to take him or her to practices and games.
  Be a tutor for a child’s schoolwork.
  Mentor a child in a sport or hobby.

• Ask God to give you ideas for helping widows (and yes, even widowers):
  Do yardwork - mow the lawn, prune shrubs, weed beds, etc.
  Do home repairs – small jobs around their house
  Buy groceries
  Do repairs on their automobiles
  Meet regularly (once a month or more often) to have coffee or tea with them and check in to see how they are doing