Mark Altrogge’s song ‘In My Generation’ contains the piercing question ‘What is on Your heart? Tell me what to do. Let me know Your will, and I will follow You.’ Ultimately, we need to be like Jesus who only did what He saw His Father doing. (John 5:19) Our ‘something’ has reflect the things on God’s heart.
The Bible gives us clear indications as to what matters to God.
- God cares for the individual. He so loved the whole world that He sent His only Son, Jesus, but that salvation is appropriated by people individually. God truly knows and cares for us individually: ‘even the very hairs on your head are numbered.’ (Matt 10:30, Luke 12:7) Christians have always been at the forefront of campaigns which remind society of the worth and value of each individual, whether that’s the unborn child, the disabled whom nobody wants to acknowledge or the elderly whose life seems so costly to maintain and of so little worth to society. Caring for indivdiuals is one of the chief ways we can ‘do something’.
- God cares for children. Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ (Matt 19:14) It’s important we care for children, because God does.
- God cares for the fatherless and the orphan and widow. He ‘sustains the fatherless and the widow’ (Ps 146:9); the Old Testament gives us clear indications of the provisions God made in society for those people who were powerless to help themselves.We need to care for those who cannot speak up for themselves.
- God cares about those in slavery, about justice, about fair wages. (Deut 24:14) Zero hour contracts… minimum wages… immigration rights… justice in the workplace – all of these very ‘modern’ topics are on God’s heart and should therefore be on our hearts too.
- God cares about the poor and needy and urges us to be ‘openhanded’ to them (Deut 15:11). That’s why we support the Salvation Army foodbank and sponsor Bedline, Amshika and Innocent and support Fredrick and Reeba’s ministry in India.
- God cares about injustice and oppression.He ‘upholds the cause of the oppressed.’ (Ps 146:7) God doesn’t want His people to be the privileged minority who trample all over people. He wants us to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves, to help those who can’t help themselves.
7. God cares about people having the opportunity to hear His word. We need to be active in promoting freedom of speech in our country and to remain true to His word. That won’t always be popular; it may even lead to active persecution, but we need to understand that the unfolding of God’s word brings light (Ps 119:130) and that His word has the power to set people free and lead to transformation.
