Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:16-17 (NIV)
I used to think that Isaiah 1:17-18 is a request for mass volunteers; that our Lord is saying, If we just get enough people to defend the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow, then we will have the power to transform a corrupt society.
But after meditating on this passage for many years, I have come to a different conclusion: in Isaiah 1:17-18, our Lord would settle for just one person seeking defending the cause of the fatherless and pleading the case of the widow.He is saying, If just one person defends the fatherless and widow, I will make your culture as white as snow.
The reason I have come to this conclusion is because this is exactly what we see with Judah, Ruth and John in the Bible. The radical love these three individual people showed for others resulted in complete social revolutions for good.
Judah offering himself up for Benjamin resulted in the preservation and propagation of the Jewish race. Ruth committing herself to the widow Naomi resulted in the establishment of the Davidic dynasty. And John identifying himself with Mary, a widow and single mother, became the model for a church that would eventually outlast the Roman empire.
In other words, the love of God – the love of Christ – when practiced by just one person as a guarantee of the wellbeing of someone in need, is so powerful and so potent that it has ramifications for good far beyond the individual act itself, affecting the entire culture.
I have seen this effect of radical love on my own life. My first church was a small and impoverished church in Hitchcock, Texas. When my wife and I first arrived at the church, the buildings were dilapidated and the congregation was demoralized. So we set about to refurbish the church inside and out. The only problem was, we had no money.
But in this church was a godly woman by the name of Jacqueline Roush. Every day Jacqueline would prepare a hot meal for her elderly neighbor, take it over to him and make sure he was okay. When he died, he left Jacqueline some money in his will and she in turn donated a good portion of it to the church so we could complete our building projects.
Jacquelines example of steadfast love for her neighbor is a major reason I am doing men’s team ministry to the widowed and single parents. Jacqueline guaranteed the wellbeing of her elderly neighbor. Little did she know that her example to me would eventually have repercussions in churches throughout the United States and around the world.
And so here is the question we all must ask ourselves: Am I going to be the one? No matter what anyone else does, am I going to be the one who will love someone in need exactly the way Christ has commanded me resulting in glory to God, the salvation of thousands of souls, and radical social transformation for good?
This post first appeared in Doing Good Well, by Herb Reese and in NewCommandment.org.
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
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