Morning, March 17

Charles Spurgeon · Morning and Evening: Daily Readings

"Remember the poor."

  Galatians 2:10

   Why does God allow so many of his children to be poor? He could make
   them all rich if he pleased; he could lay bags of gold at their doors;
   he could send them a large annual income; or he could scatter round
   their houses abundance of provisions, as once he made the quails lie in
   heaps round the camp of Israel, and rained bread out of heaven to feed
   them. There is no necessity that they should be poor, except that he
   sees it to be best. "The cattle upon a thousand hills are his"--he
   could supply them; he could make the richest, the greatest, and the
   mightiest bring all their power and riches to the feet of his children,
   for the hearts of all men are in his control. But he does not choose to
   do so; he allows them to suffer want, he allows them to pine in penury
   and obscurity. Why is this? There are many reasons: one is, to give us,
   who are favoured with enough, an opportunity of showing our love to
   Jesus. We show our love to Christ when we sing of him and when we pray
   to him; but if there were no sons of need in the world we should lose
   the sweet privilege of evidencing our love, by ministering in
   alms-giving to his poorer brethren; he has ordained that thus we should
   prove that our love standeth not in word only, but in deed and in
   truth. If we truly love Christ, we shall care for those who are loved
   by him. Those who are dear to him will be dear to us. Let us then look
   upon it not as a duty but as a privilege to relieve the poor of the
   Lord's flock--remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, "Inasmuch as ye
   have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done
   it unto me." Surely this assurance is sweet enough, and this motive
   strong enough to lead us to help others with a willing hand and a
   loving heart--recollecting that all we do for his people is graciously
   accepted by Christ as done to himself.