One of the reasons Christians defend traditional views of marriage is that marriage paints for us a picture of Christ and his church – the union of the bride with the bridegroom. God’s organization of marriage is such that the way the husband and wife interact paints a picture of the way God interacts with his church. Mixing gender roles distorts that picture. Redefining marriage destroys it entirely.

But this is not a post about marriage, it’s a post about taking care of widows and orphans. People have rightly criticized evangelicals for focusing too much on things like homosexuality and too little on things like feeding the hungry. I would argue – though the example of my life is woefully inadequate to back up this argument – that we should devote as much time defending the oppressed, visiting prisoners, and taking care of widows and orphans as we spend trying to preserve biblical institutions in society. Both present a picture of God, a reflection of God’s grace to the world.

Consider who you are, how miserable your state, how hopeless and in need of the absolute, free grace of another to bring you salvation. And then Christ came. He transformed you, brought you to himself, cleansed every sin, and brought you into his eternal kingdom.

The question then is, what are you doing in your life that presents to the world what Christ did for you? This, I think, is one reason it is so important for us to help those in need. There are other very good reasons to do such things (God said to, that pretty much settles the argument) but one motivation for Christians is we know every time we feed the hungry or clothe the poor, showing concern for the physical as well as spiritual well being of another human being, we reflect God in the world, shining his light through our good deeds

Let’s not mistake church attendance for helping people in need. Throwing money in the offering plate is also not enough. The Father of the fatherless, the protector of widows, wants us to show his true character to the world. How are you displaying his mercy and grace and generosity to those who are in desperate need of your help?