Keeping Christ in Christmas- Dec. 8- Caring for Others

In Luke 10:29-36 Jesus answers the question about what true caring looks like— what it means to care for your neighbor.


“But he desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"

I don’t like to post a lot of videos on Joy Treasure unless they meet three criteria. They have to:

1. Get me thinking deeper about an issue

2. Inspire me to move in a different direction

3. Lead me to stop and worship God through a spoken word or song

4. And….of course NOT be cheesy

This video passed my test and cut to the core of my heart. You’ll find out why mid-way through it. In case you have forgotten there was genocide in Rwanda here are some statistics of the aftermath that will leave you feeling overwhelmed, heartbroken and angry.

o Over the course of 100 days from April 6 to July 16 2004, an estimated 800,000 to 1 million Tutsis and some moderate Hutus were slaughtered in the Rwandan genocide.1 A recent report has estimated the number to be close to 2 million.2

o During this period of terrible slaughter, more than 6 men, women and children were murdered every minute of every hour of every day. This brutally efficient killing was maintained for more than 3 months.3

o There are between 300,000 to 400,000 survivors of the genocide.4

o Between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped during the 100 days of genocide.5 Up to 20,000 children were born to women as a result of rape.6

o More than 67% of women who were raped in 1994 during the genocide were infected with HIV and AIDS.7 In many cases, this resulted from a systematic and planned use of rape by HIV+ men as a weapon of genocide.8

o There are 10 times as many widows than widowers – almost 50,000 widows of the genocide.9

o Nearly 100,000 survivors are aged between 14 and 21, of which 60,000 are categorised as very vulnerable.10

o 75,000 of survivors were orphaned as a result of the genocide.11

o Of those that survived the genocide over half the children stopped their schooling, because of poverty.12

http://www.survivors-fund.org.uk/resources/history/statistics.php
(I am not supporting any website nor am I encouraging you to give to any website. I leave this link to give credit to where I found these statistics.)

Staggering Statistics aren't they. A couple of things touched me in this video. Did you see the young fellow on his wooden scooter? The smile on his face shined as bright as the sun didn’t it! We have all the scooters we need here in America….some of our children have more than one. Yet he didn't have a Toys R Us to go and buy one, he had to make it.

Sarah says in her song, “we can’t erase it.” I think she is talking about the genocide. You and I can’t erase what people have been through but we can care for others. We can pray for others. We can extend our hand to others. She goes on to say, “Their pain has changed her.” Pain changes us. Other’s pain changes us. Christ’s pain changed us forever. We live in a world that likes to push other’s pain to the wayside like the Samaritan. Listen friends, I don’t know where you are reading this from or who God has placed in your path, but you can make a difference for Christ in another person’s life. It might be a sacrifice of time, money, and other resources but don’t hesitate to help. Don’t miss the opportunity to be the vessel God can use to touch another’s heart. Don't let the busyness of Christmas keep you from SEEING those in need around you.