The Compassion Box Initiative: Giving for the Glory of God

It could probably go without saying that this past year has not been the easiest for anyone. With jobs being lost, sickness and death affecting friends and families, and with mental health issues rising due to lock-downs, now more than ever do people need the light of Jesus and the hope that He provides. One of the biggest impacts that Covid has had on our community has been homelessness due to loss of income, changing the way people go about their lives from whether they are living it or just trying to survive. We know that the power of Gospel is able to save the most wretched sinner and provide him with the greatest treasure here on earth and in heaven, Jesus Christ. Yet, that does not negate our duty as the hands and feet of Christ to help those in our community who are in need. Out of our love for Christ, we are to love our neighbors who are in need by giving from the abundance of blessings God has bestowed upon us, fulfilling His greatest commandments to love God and love people.

Although there is so much to learn from this passage alone, here are three things we can take away from this passage:

1. We see Jesus mentioning two things that should be given to those in need. Not only should we give to provide some of the basic necessities of life (I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink…I as naked and you clothed me,) but we should also give our time (I was a stranger and you welcomed me…I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.) In our mission to be more Christlike and to glorify God, let us not be selfish with the blessings He has given us. Let us not hold on dearly to our possessions, and let us not think that the time God has given us is our own. Let us love our neighbours in need by giving freely the resources that can help them, and the time that God has allotted us.
2. Next we see that Jesus is clear: As we serve those who are in need, we are actually serving Him. As we act as the hands and feet of the body of Christ, we are glorifying Him. Here we see that serving God does not merely look like volunteering in a church ministry, but it can also entail being obedient to God’s word and just being an extension of God’s compassion, love, and grace to those who are in need.
3. Finally, what we can learn from this excerpt of Scripture can be found in the context of this passage. Here Jesus is discussing the Final Judgment of the Son of Man, and He is explaining how those whom He put on His right, His sheep, will be the ones who will inherit the kingdom (v.33-34). The ones who inherit the kingdom of God are the ones who feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, etc. His sheep do not do these works in order to inherit the kingdom, but the fact that they do so is evidence that their hearts have been changed by God to have compassion on those in need. We, as the sheep of His pasture, are to give, not out of compulsion as Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:7 states, but from a cheerful heart; a heart that has been transformed by the love of Christ and the power of His gospel. As James states, “Faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26) and as we give to those in need, let it be a glorifying example of Christ’s salvific work in us, and the faith that is active in us.

This is our heart behind the Compassion Box initiative: To give as God gives, with generous and cheerful hearts to those in our community who are in need, for the glory of God. Since the beginning of the pandemic, The Salvation Army has taken in 5 times as many people than in the previous years, many of whom were experiencing homelessness for the first time in some communities.

With that in mind, it has been a blessing to be able to partner with The Salvation Army whose mission statement aligns with our heart for giving back to the community:

Isn’t it such a beautiful thing when God’s church unite under one cause? Because of the generous, transformed hearts of all the people that gave to this initiative, about 50-55 people in our community will be provided some basic necessities to life. So as we reflect on the goodness of God for His sovereign hand in helping us reach our financial goal, let us also rejoice that in doing so for the least of these, we were doing so for Christ. Soli Deo Gloria.