Help for the helpless

A lady called Miep Gies died this week aged 100. You may not at first glance know who she was - but she was instrumental in feeding and providing shelter for Anne Frank in the room in the building where she worked as a secretary to Anne’s father. She also found Anne’s diary and kept her pages safe hoping Anne would return to possess them.

She knew that anyone helping Jews could be sent to prison or even shot but that didn’t deter her. Her strong Christian faith made her believe that you should help people when you can: When asked about her actions many years later she said: “They were powerless, they didn’t know where to turn, we did our duty as human beings: helping people in need.” [Wikepedia]

In the wake of the terrible disaster in Haiti we feel powerless not knowing how best to help. The re-building of this desperate, poor, deprived country depends on us… doing our duty as human beings – helping people in need. No matter how little we can throw into a collecting box it will make a difference – don’t ever underestimate the part you could play.

When Jesus was teaching the parable about the sheep and the goats in Matthew Chapter 25 he said these words [v 34-40] “I was hungry, and you fed me: I was thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was homeless and you offered me a room; I was shivering and you gave me clothes; I was sick and you stopped to visit; I was in prison and you came to me:” and goes on to say [v 40] “I’m telling the solemn truth, whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me, you did it to me” [TM]

God can use your smallest gift in ways you may never know or understand.