No Matter What

I HAVE A QUESTION.. that relates to words spoken by Jesus more than 2,000 years ago. Luke records this statement in chapter 4 verse 18, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."

So here is the question, "Why doesn't the church spend more time with the poor, the prisoner, the physically infirmed, and the downtrodden?" Jesus was ORDAINED and SENT to minister to people that the church now seems to avoid. We ignore the very people that Jesus paid most attention to. As we start to wake up, we will come to realize that poverty and hunger do not just plague developing nations.

-Every 44 seconds a baby is born into poverty.
-In 2002, 12.1 million children (16.7%) of all children under age 18, were poor - a larger percentage than any other age group.
-4.1 million children experiencing poverty lived in families with at least one full-time, working adult.
-6% of children live in extreme poverty with household incomes below -50% of the poverty level ($9425 for a family of 4 in 2004).
-In 2003, PA ranked 28th among states in the percent of children who are poor.
-14.7% of PA children under age 18 lived below the poverty line in 2000.
-16.2% of PA children age 5 and under lived below the poverty line in 2000.
-In Allegheny County, 41,339 children (14.9%) lived in poverty in 2000.
-In the City of Pittsburgh, 17,868 children (27.5%) lived in poverty in 2000.

Consider these final statistics; 1 out of every 4 children in developing countries dies by age 5. And most astounding... more people have died of hunger in the last 10 years than in all of the wars, revolutions, and murders of the last 150 years.

Do you think it's about time for the church to take action? For the follower of Jesus Christ the answer is simple; you MUST be an advocate for the poor, the prisoner, the physically infirmed, and the downtrodden. "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly: defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9

Go where He sends you, no matter the cost --Craig