Day 1: Consider the Poor

“Blessed is he who considers the poor…" (Psalm 41:1)

Love for those far off begins at home. Of this, Satan is keenly aware. His favorite tool for hindering our love for the unseen and unheard is to stir up strife among those who would speak in their defense.

To encourage one another, is not to criticize motives or methods. Vocation is a calling from God, not from man. We honor God by honoring the manifold ways that he may call us to serve in the vineyard.

There is only one calling that is universal, the call to consider the poor. All else flows from this. God calls His people to set their minds on particular people -- poor in the eyes of the world -- and to think about their plight in concrete, human terms.

When we thus consider the poor, God goes to work. He replaces the world’s confusion with clarity and truth. He cuts through inhuman abstractions with particular people. To concretely consider the poor is to benefit from these gifts, first of all.

But there is more, the more you consider the vast and various needs of your neighbor, the more you are turned to Christ Jesus as the only help in time of need. Your neighbor comes into focus, your prayers are sharpened, and your unique calling is clarified.

Then comes the most blessed gift of all. You see ever more clearly that Jesus is the Truly Blessed One, and you are truly the poorest. “Blessed it He who considers the poor,” means that Jesus considers you.