Touching Caring for Communities

God made man a little lower than the Elohim (Himself) Heb 2:7, Ps 8:5) we are therefore important to Him. Hence, we are to treat each other the way God intended for them to be treated. The scriptures commanded us to do good to everyone and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt 22:39, Mk 12:31). Our neighbor can be anyone in need, as demonstrated by Luke 10: 25-37 where the man on the Jericho road was assisted by a stranger who was considered an enemy.

Communities are made up of people. There are different types on communities. These include: geographical, spiritual, occupational, among others. Care must be extended to all communities. To touch a community is to impact it in a godly way. To care is to provide what is necessary for health, welfare, maintenance and protection. We need to go where the people are, that is, in communities and minister to their needs. This is how we should live out our spiritual lives from day to day. The church must be connected to the community in order to impact it.

We are commanded to do good to all, especially to those of the household of faith (Gal 6:10). It is not enough to say to them “be warm and fed” (Jas 2:16). We must minister to their needs. It takes love to care, so we have to apply strategy, wisdom and, structure. It cannot be left to chance. In the Old Testament Jethro told Moses to appoint able men to deal with certain needs the people had. In the New Testament the Twelve Apostles also appointed seventy men to assist with the physical needs of the widows. We therefore need to have an organized programme to care for the widows, orphans, the solitary, children, youth, the elderly, the destitute etc.

If we have been called to seek and save the lost and restore them to their purpose as well as deliver the next generation, then we must care for their needs. We have to go where the people are. Some are found in the seven mountains of influence, that is, family, religion, education, government, business, media, arts and entertainment. We are called to be witnesses of Jesus in all the world. We must therefore give our time, talent and treasure to assist those who need us. In Matthew 25: 31-46, Jesus used a parable to demonstrate how we ought to do good. That is, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take in strangers, clothe the naked and visit those who are sick or in prison. If we do these to the person considered the least, we would have done it to Jesus and therefore receive eternal life. If we fail to do these things to the least we would have failed to do them to Jesus, and we will receive eternal punishment.

The attitude that we should have towards touching and caring for the community include: surrendering our will to the Lordship of Jesus, loving our neighbours, be a people of prayer, praise and worship and have the fruit of the Holy Spirit. In Isaiah 61we are called to bind up the broken hearted, proclaim liberty to the captives and the open the prison to those who are bound. Some obstacles to impacting and caring for the community include: disobedience, laziness, lack of discipline, selfishness, busyness, over commitment, procrastination, stinginess and lack of love. In caring for the community we should have a social, political and spiritual impact on them.