Caring::
Caring for the poor is our fourth core value at Water of Life Community Church. Beginning in the Old Testament, it is very clear that God has a heart for the poor. Care for the poor is both physical and spiritual; salvation is for the “whole” man.
“What use is it , my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give then what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” ---James 2:14-17
We believe that one of Water of Life’s main priorities is to those in need. The principle is, we get so we can give, which we believe is a part of God’s heart for all people. We need the poor and downtrodden as much as they need us. It is with them that we gain the heart of God and that the Holy Spirit is able to soften us and impart the Father’s heart to us.
The Bible is emphatic about the church’s responsibility to care for those in need.
“But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother (or sister) in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? ---1 John 3:17
In Matthew 25, Jesus expects nothing less from His church, which is why this core value is so important at Water of Life, as this expectation is clearly shown.
“…Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me.” ---Matthew 25:34-36
We want to be counted among the faithful described above as those who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, invited the stranger in, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and also visited those in prison.
“The King will say to them, truly I say to you to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me” ---Matthew 25:40.
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