July 24
Scripture: James 1:27
Source author: James Stuart Bell
July 24
Genuine Religion Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress. —James 1:27
My youngest daughter, Caitie, is of that generation that wants everything to be genuine and asks uncomfortable questions. She came home from her Christian school with tearfilled eyes because of a video about orphan boys in a war-torn African country. The other students seemed to show no response. She asked, “So what does true Christianity look like?” On a mission trip to Costa Rica, she answered her own question. Children in a mountain village were suffering disease because of a lack of clean water. There was limited time to put in a septic system. She crouched with a heavy pickax in an eight-foot hole in the hundred-degree heat, refusing to take breaks as she whispered to herself, “It’s for the children.” As Caitie told me this story, I thought of the words of Jesus: “When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:40).
True Christianity does more than feel empathy for those in need. True Christianity meets that need. — James Stuart Bell —