Caring for the Hungry

Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. Isaiah 59: 9b-10
The Hunger Project reports that 815 million people on earth are chronically hungry. Every day, over 8,000 children die of hunger-related causes. While most people in the United States do not suffer from extreme hunger, millions in this country are unable to afford the food they need for a healthy diet. As God’s people through Jesus Christ, we cannot ignore the reality of hunger in our world. Nor can we sit by while millions starve. Simple compassion, not to mention Christ-like love, calls us to act. In the time of Isaiah, God promised that if his people would feed the hungry and help those in trouble, then “[their] light will rise in the darkness, and [their] night will become like the noonday” (58:10). The same is true today. As Christians band together to fight global hunger, not only will millions receive the help they desperately need, but also the world will see the light of Christ shining through us. Jesus once said, “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt 5:15-16). Surely, one of these “good deeds” is, in the words of Isaiah, spending ourselves in behalf of the hungry.
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Prayer: How are you contributing to the effort of God’s people to feed the hungry? ​