Preparing Our Hearts for Easter: Day 24 – Caring for the Sick

An article by Frank    No Comments

In the lead up to Easter we will be putting up a new lent devotion each week day. These devotions will also be available in the discussions section of our Facebook page and will be played on New Zealand’s Rhema.

During a very short time I spent in India, I had a chance to sit in a room in a slum with some people suffering from tuberculosis and a young polio sufferer. While I sat there I couldn’t help but reflect in my mind on Jesus as the man who touched lepers, the unclean sufferers in his society.

In many countries, suffering from these things carries a social stigma, people feel ashamed to talk about their illnesses when they suffer from such things. Alongside these there is HIV/AIDs. Around the world, much like leprosy in the time of Jesus, AIDs sufferers are ostracized and pushed out to the fringes of society. Even in our own civil society I recently read something written by a Christian calling AID’s the disease of the gay community and another calling it punishment for godless Africans. That is shameful and angers me.

Christianity is the embodiment of Jesus on this earth and just as Jesus extended his hand to the leper, so we should extend our hand to those who suffer from things like tuberculosis, polio and the socially condemned HIV/AID’s sufferers. We are the hand of love and help.

Today, let’s consider how we can help in this area – identify organizations working with sufferers and demonstrate your support in some way – prayer, money or time. Find out how you can reflect Jesus demonstration of compassion and acceptance of the lepers and do the same for those who suffer socially ostracizing illnesses now.

Pray

Jesus – don’t allow our social discomfort with disease stop us from serving those your hearts is poured out for. With the sick, allow us to see them with your eyes and to be moved with the compassion you demonstrated.

Amen