A young man sat in a second story balcony of the church in a poor African city. His life had been forever changed by what he had seen and experienced. As he contemplated these things, three young children, neighbors to the church building, strove to get his attention. When the young man looked, they would hide. It was a game to play with the white man. He noticed their poor condition and wondered how he could help. They were skinny and under clothed. The house they lived in was small and barely standing. Any resources given to them would not last and only make them dependent on handouts. What would spark real change and healthy growth? The young man thought for a moment and went down and spoke with the parents. He invited them to study the Bible and to worship the next day. He left praying for that family and those children. He knew that they would never be wealthy by America’s standards, but they could have godly parents and a chance to know their heavenly Father.
We have all seen or heard of the starving orphan story. It sparks within us an urge to help and a drive to make a difference. There are so many humanitarian efforts in the world spending millions on a need that will never end. The world will always have poverty, drought, sickness and orphans (Matt. 26:11). What if we were to change the perspective of this narrative? What if instead of the physically hungry, we focused on the spiritual? What would those around us look like if we could see their spiritual condition? Would we be concerned? Would we have the same drive to help?
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6). Again He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.’ Then they said to Him, ‘Lord, always give us this bread.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:32-37). There are so many who are spiritually starving right in front of us. Some in our own homes go unnourished from the word of God, yet we make sure they are physically cared for. Perspective is everything. If we truly understood the importance of nourishing ourselves on the Bread of life and making sure that our families, children and friends were doing the same, would we be doing anything differently? Would you change priorities in your home so that your children would not be spiritually malnourished?