° Tell others about your Hope.
° Be there for those who need it most.
° Find practical use for the joy that overflows your heart and your soul.
° Be a Christian in working, standing on the Word and loving your neighbour as yourself.
I have just finished reading Hope for the Hopeless, written by Steve Camp. Initially I wanted to leave a comment on his blog, but changed my mind and decided to write my own post, after my tears had dried somewhat...No, we do not see AIDS victims every day here. Living in a small community in Sweden has definitely its advantages (?). But we hear about this disastrous illness often enough to be aware of the problem. I remember those first times when AIDS came to our consciousness, in the early eighties, I believe. And then somebody knew somebody who knew somebody who...
Well, you know and remember it, too. Everybody was afraid, prejudices arose very quickly, people got judgemental and hard, and the result was the complete isolation of those who were ill and of their families as well.
People were afraid and ignorant. We did not know what it was. The only thing we knew was the certainty of its deadliness and its probable way of spreading. Some of us even thought it to be God's punishment on 'those filthy sinners'. Admit it, repent of it, be honest to yourself. Not everybody of us was a Christian back then. We did not know better.
There was no cure in those times, and we could watch in terror how devastating and disastrous this illness was. It took away some celebrities, and thus stopped being the silent cause, this illness of sinners. It took us many years to understand it and to stop being afraid of it. Where are we now in our understanding after all those years?
Well, we know much more about the source of it, the spreading paths and the life sustaining medicine. We no longer condemn those infected for having the condition. We have come a long way. But it is not enough. As Steve wisely put it,
"The most unloving thing that I as a Christian could do for someone facing certain death due to HIV infection is give them only dignity in their dying."
However awkward it may seem to me or anybody else, human helping hand and words of comfort mean nothing if not put on the foundation of Gospel Message.
If we are who we claim to be, if we believe in what we claim to believe, then sharing the Gospel with dying people is a main obligation for us.
This does not mean that we are to do the lip service only. Remember?
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.Take up their cross. Love them.
(Jam 2:17)
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
(Joh 3:16)
1 comment:
Such an important point to be made!
I am often bothered when I read or hear about social missions work. While it is important that we meet the needs of the poor and disadvantaged around the world, what good have we done if we feed them, clothe them, and put a roof over their head and then leave them to die an eternal death. As Christians, we must be more concerned with the eternal condition of the soul. Then we can help with all of the other needs as well.
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