Is the Poor Man our Brother?

Do we truly view the poor man as our brother?

The Bible's teaches us about God's concern for the poor, and we see that we belong to a compassionate Kingdom, one wide enough to take in all the lost, oppressed, haggard, hungry, homeless, and dispossessed.

The Bible says that God provides for the poor (Ps. 68:10), delivers the poor (Ps. 72:12), secures justice for the poor (Ps. 140:12), hears the poor (Job 34:28), shows no partiality against the poor (Job 34:19), protects the poor (Ps. 12:5), will not forsake the poor (Is. 41:17), and gives food to the poor (Ps. 146:7).

Friend, this is the compassionate Kingdom to which we belong. And you and I are called to be ambassadors of this kind of God. There are passages in Scripture that link our works to our faith. James gives us that famous call to consider—that faith without works is dead. True religion, said James, is "to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (Jas. 1:27). Works describe our faith, true—but more, works are linked to our faith.

Fred Jordan Missions is here on Skid Row because God called us to care for the poor man. We share Jesus, the Bread of Life for the soul, and we share bread, the staff of life for the body - - with those whose lives have been destroyed by their sins and addictions; the prostitutes, like the woman whom Jesus met at the well; and to care for the homeless who sleep on the streets and in the back alleys of the inner city. Here at the Mission, we believe that faith without compassion is dead.

Some might ask, “Do Christians need to be compassionate?” My answer is simple: "Can we be Christians without being compassionate toward the poor?"

Blessings,

Willie L. Jordan (Mrs. Fred Jordan)