Love Meets Needs

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰  And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the LORD your God."

Leviticus 19:9-10

In the Law, God made provisions for the widow and fatherless, for the poor and the stranger.  It was forbidden for the Israelites to harvest all the crops which grew in their field so those without an inheritance could gather food for their survival.  All the crops produced in their fields was a gift of God, and He gave them enough to spare.  God was a generous Father for  His people, and through them He would bless the fatherless.  Those whose husbands had died would find practical needs met by God through the people He had betrothed to Himself.  The children of Israel had experienced poverty as foreigners in Egypt, and they were called to remember their humble beginnings so they might retain humility.

Further on God said in Leviticus 19:18, "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD."  The children of God were to consider the needs of others and love them without bitterness or resentment.  The measure of their kindness to others was according to the preference we naturally extend to ourselves.  When Jesus came, He immeasurably increased the standard we ought to follow, for He said in John 15:12:  "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."  The love of God expressed through Christ's life and demonstrated in His death is beyond measure, and only through the power of the Holy Spirit can we begin to fulfil His glorious command.  As we have freely received from God we are to freely give to God and others.

James 1:27 reads, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."  Jesus has come to us, and it is fitting we would visit those who are in trouble, motivated by the love Jesus has given us.  God has shown His love to us practically by meeting our spiritual and temporal needs, and we too can show the protective and providing love of a husband and father to those God brings across our path.  God does not change, but may we be changed into His loving likeness, willing to sacrifice and give for the benefit of others and the glory of our God.