Where do you find God? My friend Arloa,
who ministers to and lives among the poor on
Chicago’s west side, says she meets God in
the presence of the poor. She notes that
Psalm 34 says that God is close to the
brokenhearted, so if you want to find God,
you go to where the brokenhearted are. And
she finds that many of the homeless,
addicted, abused people who receive her care
are brokenhearted —and she’s experienced the
presence of God in their midst.
Arloa—founder and executive director of
Breakthrough Urban Ministries—is an
extraordinary person, in my estimation. She
makes me examine my calling with fear and
trembling. (You can read an article I wrote
about her a few years ago
here.)
God has called her to live in the city,
to minister to the poor. At this point, he’s
not calling me to do the same. But he is
calling me to love my neighbor, to make a
difference, to not turn an indifferent ear
to the cries of the poor and brokenhearted.
This month, Breakthrough and about a
dozen other inner-city ministries are
conducting a backpack drive, to provide
school supplies for under-resourced kids.
You can learn more about it by
clicking here to read my recent blog
post about it. I plan to donate to this
drive. But I realized that because of the
economy, kids everywhere are facing
challenges. So I’m thinking of doing a
similar backpack drive at my son’s junior
high.
We all want to grow spiritually, to get
close to God. After all, what is the point
of spiritual growth? Where does our “walk
with God” take us? What does God want? Did
he just want us to love him, like children?
You could make a case for that, I suppose;
but I have always thought that there has got
to be more to faith than just obeying the
rules.
Long ago, other people asked that same
question. What matters? What should our
lives be about if we are following God? God
answered through the prophet Micah: “He has
shown all you people what is good. And what
does the Lord require of you? To act justly,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your
God” (Micah 6:8).
When I first heard this verse, I was in
my early 20's coming back into the church
after a few years of staying away, wrapped
up in myself and my doubts. Even with all
the memorizing and studying of my childhood,
I didn’t remember hearing Micah’s words. Its
simplicity stirred me. God, through the
words of a minor prophet, invited me away
from legalism and guilt into a simple
compassion.
We don’t act justly to earn God’s favor.
We can’t buy his love with backpacks or
other donations. But we act justly when we
walk humbly with God. We realize we’ve been
given much, and it makes us want to share
that love with others.
The brokenhearted are not just living in
the city—they are all around you. Maybe you
know someone who is dealing with serious
illness, unemployment, financial stress.
They need you to draw near, to act justly,
to love mercy, to walk with them. That is
the heart of simple compassion.
Quotable
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
(Psalm 34:18)
Is not this the kind of fasting I have
chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the
hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with
shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh
and blood?
(Isaiah 58:6,7)
“We are not to simply bandage the wounds
of victims beneath the wheels of injustice,
but we are to drive a spoke into the wheel
itself.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
WIN
A FREE BOOK!
I’m delighted to tell you that my newest
book, Simple Compassion, releases
next month. Read on to find out how you can
win a free copy of this book.
The subtitle is “Devotions for Making a
Difference in Your Neighborhood and Your
World.” And that’s what it is: 52 chapters
on how to make a difference, right where you
are. It’s not your typical devotional. Each
chapter reads like a short magazine article,
telling stories about women (contemporary or
historical) who have made a difference. Each
chapter ends with a “compassion step” for
you to reflect on individually, and
“community step” to discuss or act on with a
group. You read one chapter each week, and
let the book guide you on a journey of
compassion and justice. (without any guilt
trip detours).
The first quarter of the book focuses on
understanding your own worth in God’s eyes,
on seeing how you can make a difference. The
second quarter moves outward, to how you can
make a difference right where you are, in
your family, neighborhood or church. The
third quarter of the book is about making a
difference in your region—whether that’s a
city or just the poor side of your town. The
final quarter looks at some larger, global
issues, and offers practical, do-able steps
you can take to make a difference for people
in need around the world.
Some people have asked me why I
wrote a book on compassion, since most of my
earlier books were about spiritual
formation. Well, to me, becoming more
compassionate, and developing a heart for
the poor, is the outcome of Christian
spiritual formation. If we are being formed
into the image of Christ, we will become
more like him. And he cared for the
marginalized, the down-trodden, the
broken-hearted. To follow him as a disciple
means we must follow him toward caring for
the poor. But not all of us will go to
Africa, or the inner city. Some of us will
follow Jesus to find the poor who are
living, hidden, in our midst, or the
brokenhearted who are right beside us.
I wrote this book to talk about my own
journey, and to encourage others to care for
others right where they are.
Here’s a couple of the endorsements for
Simple Compassion:
“True devotionals should stir us to
devote our lives to something bigger than
ourselves. [Simple Compassion] will
not just warm your heart but will actually
break your heart with the things that break
God’s.”
—Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and
recovering sinner
"Keri's journey of compassion is truly a
reflective of a woman who wants to impact
her community and her world ... I think
these stories will stir others to do the
same."
—Heather Larson, Director of Compassion and
Justice Ministries, Willow Creek Community
Church
If you’d like to win a copy of Simple
Compassion, here’s the deal: you have to be
willing to read the book with at least two
other people. That’s right, if you’ll read
the book with a group, you can win a free
copy. Just go to
http://keriwyattkent.com/contact.htm and
fill out the form. In the comment section,
tell us about your group—it can be an
existing small group, or one forming today
just to read the book. There’s a leader's
guide in the book to help you.
To read a sample chapter of Simple
Compassion,
click here to go to the Zondervan
website. Click "Read Sample" button on the
left side of the page.
