New
Mercies
“Great
is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by
morning new mercies I see.
All I have
needed Thy hand has provided--
Great is
Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!”
Hope
Publishing Co. (refrain from “Great is Thy Faithfulness”)
This hymn has been
playing in my head for two days. As I prepared for the Holiday Bazaar
at my church, churning out bag after bag with fabric that has come to
me from sundry people and places, I was keenly aware of the blessings
life has bestowed on me. If not even one of my creations sells at the
bazaar, I will be fine—I have a secure home, food in excess, and
friends and family who love me. I live in a city that is protected by
first responders, in a neighborhood where the worst thing that
happens is a car break-in. My house is connected to the electrical
grid and to the city water supply, which is clean and abundant. In
short, my life is pretty good no matter what. But what if it weren't?
What if I had had the
misfortune of being born in a poor country? Perhaps, as a native in a
country long since captured and colonized by foreign powers. What if
I had no running water and no electricity, and my children were
hungry most of the time. What if my religion had been “canceled”
and my religious rituals forbidden? What if there were bandits in the
hills who made it almost impossible to move from place to place
without being robbed, or, at least, made to pay a ransom to pass
safely. How would I feel about my life then? Would I feel expendable,
forgotten, of lesser value to God and to humankind?
Here's the deal—that
exact situation exists right now in the 21st Century for
thousands of people. And, I don't know about you, but I don't believe
for one single moment that they are of lesser value to God, or to
their fellowman. So what does it say that we affluent Americans would
deploy troops to our southern border to stand against these people?
To deny them entry on grounds of their being “illegal.” To
threaten to use military force against them—women and children, old
and young? It says more about the state of our collective soul than
it says about these people.
God has been faithful to
me so that I can, in turn, be faithful to others. So that I can
provide what I am able to for the betterment of humanity. And God
loves these people from far away, who are willing to walk thousands
of miles to arrive at our borders, just as much as God loves me and
you. Now, it's up to us to share the mercies we have received through
God's grace. How we respond to the poor and destitute is a measure of
our own capacity for kindness and compassion. The test is for us, my friends, and not
them. How are we doing?
In the Spirit,
Jane
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