The prophet David, king of Israel said by inspiration, “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” (Psalms 34:17 NIV) But, the question is, how does the Lord deliver the righteous when they cry out to him because of trouble?
The Apostle John makes it very clear when we should allow God to use us to relieve the sufferings of others. He wrote, “But whoso hath the world’s goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17 ASV)
We are not to wait till our brother makes an appeal for help. On the contrary, we should be watchful and observant. If we see our, “brother in need,” we are to take remedial action. The needy person may be carried forward by hope till his situation deteriorates beyond recovery. If we see that our brother is in need and if we have the means to offer help, love demands that we make that effort!
But Satan, will undoubtedly offer us what appear to be rational excuses which would apparently justify a harsh decision. We may say in our heart, our brother’s failures seem to have been due to his own incompetence or negligence. If we reach such a conclusion we may not feel he is worthy of our help. But love says, if we behold our brother in need we must not shut up our compassion from him. (1 John 3:16)
If we make a harsh decision not to help a suffering fellow human being, we are then faced with a very difficult question. The question is, “how doth the love of God abide in us?” Love demands compassion! Love demands the extension of a helping hand! Love demands that we share what God has given us in order to help relieve the suffering of others. If we should harden our heart in the presence of obvious need, it is a denial of love. But the conclusion goes even further. Our lack of compassion is also a denial that we have been begotten again, that we are children of God!
The love which grows out of being born again by the power of Christ in our lives is not a theoretical love. It is a practical love. The Apostle John therefore exhorts us, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.” (1 John 3:18 ASV)
The obvious meaning is that we should not only express love in word and only with the tongue. We, indeed, should express love verbally, that is, ‘in word.’ Perhaps we could send a written note, or, perhaps we could speak an encouraging word, that is “with the tongue.” We should say, “…Be strong and of a good courage: be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1:9 ASV)
But our expressions of love must not be only in these verbal ways. Love also must be expressed in material and practical ways. Words of encouragement are most helpful when they are backed up with deeds of compassion.
John continues the heaven-sent message about helping others. He says, “Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him:” (1 John 3:19 ASV) Not only does helping the suffering in the name of Christ show our love, it also shows our commitment to the truth. “Hereby”, that is, by expressing love in practical terms, by lifting up the fallen through using our portion of “the world’s goods,” we prove to our selves and to others that “we are of the truth.” This is how we show our commitment to the truth.
John is still showing us how the, “children of God are manifest.” (1 John 3:10 ASV) First, a child of God is one who has, “passed out of death into life.” (1 John 3:14 ASV). Here he shows us that the child of God is also one who is, “of the truth.” In this case the truth takes on a form which costs us money or possessions. Our brother or sister is standing before us in dire need. In the presence of that need, our commitment to truth is not just verbal or theoretical. We share in that person’s need. We help lift his load. When we see that we have been transformed from a selfish person to a compassionate person who reaches out to the needy and takes part of their burden upon ourselves, then our hearts get assurance that we are truly children of God. This is the assurance which also has credence, “before him,” (ASV) or “in his presence” (NIV) not simply before men.
Helping a needy brother or sister is something the child of God does instinctively. Thus, when the child of God fails to respond to a hurting brother he does not grant approval to himself. “because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” (1 John 3:20 ASV)
This faculty of the human personality which allows us to approve or disapprove of our own conduct is a great blessing. Our inner-most beings have the ability, as it were, to stand apart and pass judgment on themselves! Usually this unique feature of the human being is called the conscience. It is one of the characteristics of man which sets him apart from animals. It also is one of the most important bases for human moral behavior.
The Apostle Paul seems to imply that man is born with an innate moral code. That seems to be implied when he says, “when Gentiles that have not the law do by nature the things of the law, these, not having the law, are the law unto themselves; in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness therewith, and their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing them;” (Romans 2:14-15 ASV)
So, man has an internal message telling him what is right and what is wrong. In addition to this God gives us an external message through the preaching and teaching of his word. Our first responsibility is to heed the internal message. However, the internal message may easily be corrupted. We must constantly, therefore, see that it is corrected by the word of God.
Even though the message of our hearts comes through a divine arrangement, that message may be incomplete, misinformed, or disregarded. But, “God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” (1 John 3:20 ASV) For example, Paul says, “For I know nothing against myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 4:4 ASV) God is greater than our heart because he says, “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:10 ASV) God is greater than our heart because he has searched us and known us. (Psalms 139:1 ff) Thus, in addition to the internal message in our hearts, we also need the external message which comes from the word of God!