How many times have you heard someone use this expression in describing a situation they find themselves in?
Abandoned wives or husbands use this expression.And no wonder as the average duration of a marriage in the U.S.is now down to 8.8 years.That’s not hard to believe when you factor in the divorce rate being between 40% to 50%,and subsequent marriages failing at an even greater percentage.These appalling numbers don’t even take into account the immeasurable suffering of the children of divorce.Surely they don’t deserve this.
Victims of abuse use this expression.According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence:
- On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men.
- 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the United States has been raped in their lifetime.
- 19.3 million women and 5.1 million men in the United States have been stalked in their lifetime.
- 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence.
All of these maddening statistics suggest a people gone mad with brutality, and represent untold suffering inflicted upon the innocent and those unable to defend themselves.Surely they don’t deserve this.
Those enslaved by poverty use this expression.Poverty is perhaps one of the most cruel,inhumane tragedies of our time.It’s effects are far reaching and in many corners of the world Poverty is accepted as the norm.
I must admit that it took me quite a long time to fully understand Poverty and it’s devastating effects on society.You see,I was taught as a young boy the value of hard work and it’s subsequent rewards.To me it was very simple:work hard and you would be rewarded with money to be able to have things that you wanted.If you didn’t have, it was because you were too lazy to work. Simple!
Unfortunately,the reality is that there are tens of millions of people who have no opportunity for work.Go to work where? What job? Their life,if you can call what they do “living”consists of receiving handouts or public assistance, begging,stealing,or worse committing violent crimes in order to survive.
Just last evening I was watching a ministry program on TV that showed a small army of children descending upon a garbage dump.Not too many things more heart wrenching than that,unless it was the ministry “host” telling a dejected,hungry,no hope in her eyes little girl to “think upon Jesus”. Huh? Surely they don’t deserve this.
So what’s the point of all of this? Well, I’ve been thinking about something that was dealt to me that I surely did not deserve. I didn’t ask for it. It was thrust upon me out of nowhere.I never saw it coming.
God’s Grace.
In a world engulfed by poverty,in a nation where abuse has been relegated to the 2nd or 3rd page of the paper,in a society where divorce is just as common as marriage,the Grace of God still shows up in a hungry heart.
Surely I don’t deserve this.
A Front Row View of The Church 
A powerful message, Ron. And greatly needed in these dark times.
Both poverty and abuse are issues close to my heart. Divorce has become a pervasive reality. Christians should not gloss over these difficult topics w/ a pat Scripture verse, and think they have done their duty. We must ask ourselves what Christ wants us to do about the condition of the world.
We are His hands, after all. We should reflect His heart. That great heart must be as broken as all the little ones feeling lost and alone, afraid, angry and abandoned.
Not much of the world is as comfortable as the corner Western Christians are privileged to occupy. It has not been since the Garden. The general experience of mankind is grief and pain.
Grace takes many forms. It can be a word of encouragement, a shoulder to cry on, a crust of bread or the Good News of Salvation. And we can be privileged to deliver it, if we just stop feeling sorry for ourselves long enough to recognize the pain around us.
Your faith is an inspiration, Ron.
Your sister in Christ,
A.
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Yes Anna,we must reflect his heart in all that we do. I am so lacking. My heart weeps for the poor and hungry among us and I cannot look away from them,yet my feeble attempts to offer relief are nothing when compared to the need. Your statement about us being His hands is especially riveting to me because I fear that as a society the poor,especially the children of the poor,are viewed simply as a drain on resources rather than God’s children that need our help. The fact that Jesus said that the poor would always be among us does not negate our obligation to them. I find myself wondering if somehow,someplace,God isn’t looking upon us in amazement as we trod under our feet the gift of His Grace,all the while refusing to extend that same Grace to those less fortunate. It’s enough to make one weep.
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I do not see you as lacking at all, Ron. You have a tender heart. The suffering of others troubles you. That is empathy, not dereliction of spiritual duty. The suffering of His children troubles God, as well, which is why Satan uses that weapon in the ongoing war of good against evil.
I, too, wrestle w/ the question of whether I am doing enough. Anyone w/ a conscience should, I think. But the fact that no individual can “do it all” should not be discouraging. Yes, the need is greater than you or I. Any effort, however, is worthwhile.
And we do not work alone. Satan uses the sense of isolation (and the massive size mankind’s problems) to paralyze us. The reality is that we are members of the Body of Christ. Members of the Body work together to accomplish God’s will.
We may feel defeated, but God never is.
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Great post, it is true that many live in poverty because there is no work to be found.. country’s with abundance spend their wealth on war and elaborate living.. it is not Biblical..
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Agreed. There is coming a day when nations will give account for such choices. While the world goes to extremes to convince itself that there is no God, the books are being written.
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