Helping those in need
A few weeks ago, we were all horrified by the news of the terrible wildfire on Maui. The videos shared on the news and social media looked like some Hollywood movie with people walking through smoke amidst fires still smoldering in destroyed buildings. I cannot begin to put myself in the position of those affected, but I want to help (just like people reached out to us in Waukesha after the parade tragedy in 2021, including through the ministry of Lutheran Church Charities).
Have you ever stopped to think about why you care about people you don’t even know? Perhaps part of it is sharing the common human experience of living in a world terribly affected by sin and tragedy. But for us as Christians, there is something much deeper. Paul writes in Galatians 6:10, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Note the word "family." What Jesus did through His perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection, and what became ours through Baptism in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit was adoption into God's family. And as family, we not only take care of each other, but we want others to be a part of family. And so we treat them as such, just as Jesus saw people in need and had compassion on them, treating them like family.
For the next few weeks, we'll be gathering a special offering for relief efforts for Maui through Lutheran Church Charities. In a recent LCC update on their work in Maui, there was this quote from a local family: “Hawaiian cultural belief is that the land is not ours. God gives us the land to take care of it, and if we do, it will take care of us. Lahaina was the original capital and where all of the original Hawaiian culture was preserved. Family, or Ohana, is everything, and all share what they have, tend the land carefully, and preserve our history by passing it down through generations.”
What a great description of what our Christian Ohana is all about. And so we continue to invite people to know Jesus, and provide opportunities to grow in His love.