Love your neighbor: Ready, set, ACTION!

Are you ready for a little honesty?

Before working at World Help, I had a certain mindset toward charities and nonprofits. I’d see a commercial about starving children or notice a colorful pamphlet depicting the struggles of refugees and always have the same reaction. I’d think, “Sure, that’s a good cause. Someone will help out. Someone will give.”

Looking back, there’s one word that sticks out and punches me right in the gut.

Someone.

“Someone will help out. Someone will give.”

I can’t believe I used to feel that way. After being part of the World Help family, though, my attitude completely shifted. I hear the Children of the World International Children’s Choir sing and talk about how sponsorship has changed their lives, and tears immediately blur my vision. I read about a refugee child who saw her parent brutally murdered, and my heart breaks.

What changed? Why the extra dose of empathy?

I’ve wrestled with these questions, and I think I finally have the answer.

It’s all about taking action.

This past summer, my family and I did just that. We hosted two boys from the Children of the World choir while they were touring the U.S. to inspire people to become sponsors for other disadvantaged kids. To say that weekend was life changing is an understatement. Cliché perhaps, but true.

We pigged out on ice cream. We cooked homemade pizza, played soccer, and enjoyed Sunday morning service together.

Why? Because love is shown through actions.

The Lord tells us in 1 John 3:18 to “not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (KJV)

Maybe you can relate. Perhaps you, too, imagine meeting people’s needs around the world as some abstract idea, a mission that can never be completed. Too many problems to solve.

But here’s my recommendation: Just help one.

Forget about saving the world. Today, look for one person who needs your help.

And this time of year, the person who perhaps needs your help most of all is a refugee. Winter is brutal for refugees living in camps with little protection against the cold and disease.

Right now, a refugee is sitting in a muddy camp struggling to survive, wondering where the next meal will come from. He or she is hoping to make it through until spring without catching a deadly illness since medicine is a luxury few can afford.

Today, you can make a difference in that person’s life.

Learn from my mistakes. Don’t just read another blog or watch a commercial and think someone else will meet the need … because the Lord wants you to take action.

Are you ready?

By giving, you’ll not only show the love of Christ, but you’ll also meet the physical needs of a starving, sick refugee during these cold months.

Here are just a few of the ways your gift can help save a life:

You’ll provide blankets and thick clothing to keep refugee children warm
You’ll give heaters to help individuals make it through the frigid winter
You’ll give a sick, elderly refugee access to medical care
You’ll help protect a family from starvation by providing nutritious food
And so much more

Your actions are the true test of your love. This is true even of your own family: Just because you live under the same roof doesn’t mean you love them. Sharing DNA doesn’t prove it.

It’s what you do that counts. You talk with them. Encourage them. Help them with homework.

Right now, I encourage you to show love by giving to a refugee in need. Will you feed your neighbor who is hungry? Will you wrap a warm blanket around your neighbor who is freezing tonight?

Your generosity will be an incredible testimony to them of your love and the love of Christ.

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