ODJ: no kill shelter
Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do (v.12).
READ: Matthew 9:9-13
Dogtown, the focus of a television show by the same title, is part of a 33,000-acre animal sanctuary in southern Utah. It’s a “no kill shelter” where dogs that might otherwise be put down, find hope.
A devoted staff of trainers, veterinarians, and volunteers take in unwanted, unruly, damaged canines with the goal of transforming each one into a loving pet. Many of the dogs that end up at the shelter exhibit bad or aggressive behavior because they’re wounded and scared. The staff at Dogtown believe that even dogs who have faced harsh difficulties in life can be turned around for the better.
Wouldn’t it be great if our churches and Christian communities were more like Dogtown—places where scared, damaged, and messed-up people could come and find hope, love, and wholeness? In many ways, the community of faith is meant to be like “no kill shelters” for people who are broken or struggling with sin (Galatians 6:1). Too often, however, we tend to “shoot” our wounded. And the ones who want to pull the trigger first are often hiding deep struggles of their own behind a wall of self-righteousness.
Speaking of self-righteous, when the religious leaders of Jesus’ day questioned His disciples as to why He was socializing with sinners, Jesus said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. . . . For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Matthew 9:13).
People who follow the example of Jesus will show care and concern regardless of a person’s struggles. Jesus was never soft on moral failure (John 8:11), but He always met people where they were with the intention of speaking life-changing truth into their broken and wayward hearts (John 4:25-26). —Jeff Olson
How can you be a living “no kill shelter” for those around you? What have you learned from Jesus about how to care for those who are struggling with sin?
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Loading ...ODB: an urge to be anonymous
November 1, 2009
READ: Matthew 6:1-4
When you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your . . . deed may be in secret. —Matthew 6:3-4
The urge to misbehave and the desire to be anonymous always visit me together. Like partners making a sales call, they do their best to convince me that I can afford to do something wrong because I won’t have to pay.
Human nature tells us to use the cover of anonymity to avoid taking the blame for the bad things we do. God, however, tells us something else. He wants us to use anonymity to avoid taking credit for the good that we do (Matt. 6:4). Why is it that the urge to remain anonymous seldom accompanies my desire to do good!
The Bible says we’re not to let one hand know the good that the other is doing (vv.3-4). In other words, within the body of Christ our deeds of charity should be done without calling attention to ourselves. This does not mean, however, that God wants good deeds to remain hidden; it just means that they should be done in a way that makes a good name for God, not ourselves (5:16).
When we volunteer our services or make donations to churches and organizations that do good work in the name of Jesus, we receive something much better than honor from our peers. We receive rewards from God, and God receives glory from others! (1 Peter 2:12). — Julie Ackerman Link
When we serve in Jesus’ name, He gets the glory.
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