If there is among you a poor man of your brethren,
within any of the gates in your land
which the LORD your God is giving you,
you shall not harden your heart
nor shut your hand from your poor brother,but you shall open your hand wide to him
and willingly lend him sufficient for his need,
whatever he needs.
Deuteronomy 15:7-8
LORD Jesus, we praise You for You are the Creator of everything—all that we are, all that we have, and all that we are able to give. You own it all, and You so richly provide for us—things that we need and things that we need to pass on to others. We praise You, precious LORD Jesus, for blessing us so wonderfully: Our needs are provided for, and we have more than enough so we can share with others in need.
How, and to what extend, are we to help the poor? This is one of the main topics in Deuteronomy 15. We are told to “Open our hand wide,” (verses 8 & 11). One thing God reminds us of is, that we are not to harden our heart, nor shut our hand from our poor brother (7). We are not to be grieved when we give; instead, we ought to surely, willingly lend to our brothers and sisters in Christ who are poor (10).
One of the things we so often forget—overlook and miss—is, that it is God who has given us life and all that we have. He is the Owner of it all, and we are to be good stewards of what He has given to us. In other words, it is not about the things we can or should do; it’s not about the things we possess; but it is all about Him. He is the Creator, the Owner, and the One who makes things possible. Hallelujah!
Inviting other Christians to dinner or creating something beautiful for our sisters in Christ is lovely; coming together with others to talk about the LORD, to sing hymns, and to pray with one another is heart-warming; I’m not saying that we should avoid these things. What I want to emphasize today, though, is: We need to reach out to the ones among us who are not as fortunate as we are and who are struggling to heat and eat—you know, the ones who cannot pay us back for helping them.
Open your hand wide to the brother or sister who is in need today.