APEX: 30 Days Of HeartworkSample

Love As Brothers

++Heart++   

If you could travel to the mountains of Zacapa, Guatemala today, you would find a community living in extremely difficult conditions. Their home is the local trash dump. Families with multiple children have built shelters there so that they can be the first to grab whatever the dump trucks drop off onto the pile of trash. These people don’t have access to clean water and they live each day without being sure of where their next meal will come from. Disease is rampant in the community and paying for health care is not an option. The effects of poverty make it very difficult for the adults to work jobs, or for the children to attend any schooling. This creates a cycle of poverty within families that is very difficult to break, which leads to feelings of hopelessness and despair.        

The Bible reminds us to remember those who are hurting as if we were the ones suffering. When preaching on the subject of compassion and in reference to the story of the good Samaritan, Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’”

Try to imagine what it would be like if you were born into this community in Zacapa.     

Now, imagine if someone loved you enough that they made personal sacrifices in order to take care of you and your family’s needs. Think of how your life would change if you heard of the love and hope in Jesus! There are people in our schools, our cities, and around the world who need a word of encouragement, a meal, or a listening ear today. May we show true compassion and use the gifts, talents, and resources that God has given each of us to care for those who are suffering. Let us be people that love like Jesus does and refuse to ignore our brothers and sisters who are in need. 

++Work++

There are an estimated 153 million orphans worldwide. That’s more than twice the population of minors (children 0-17 years old) in the United States. 1.4 billion people in the developing world living on less than $1.25 per day. Of the 5.5 million Syrian refugees,  2.5 million are children. Every year, approximately 1.8 million children die as a result of diseases from unclean water and poor sanitation... that’s five THOUSAND deaths each day.* As Christians, these facts should move us to compassion and loving action. 

Do a little research today to find out who the most needy people in your city are. Where do they live? How do they survive? Who is reaching out to them?