Caring for This City
Justin Pearson and his wife Julie are members of the Fairmount City Group. Justin is in the Deacon process at The Paradox and leads our movement with international missions."For The Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt." (Deutoronomy10:17-19)Sojourn is a noun meaning a temporary stay.Throughout Scripture we see that God cares for those who cannot care for themselves. His heart is that those people that He made His own would be the ones to live this out. We, as the Body of Christ, have the opportunity to be obedient and follow God's heart here in Fort Worth. There are thousands of refugees here that have had to leave their homes and make new homes in a strange land for a variety of reasons. Here in a new country these people lack resources, skills, and community. Being in a new culture is hard enough, but not being able to thrive compounds the difficulty that much more.God cares for those in need.Remember back to the Old Testament, when the people of Israel prepare to enter the land of Canaan, the land God had promised to their patriarch, Abraham, many years before. Moses gathers the people and reminds them of the covenant God made with them and the law that goes with that covenant. In Deuteronomy 10:12-13 he says: "And now Israel what does The Lord your God require of you, but to fear The Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love Him, to serve The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and the statutes of The Lord, which I am commanding you for your good?" He reminds them of the special relationship that God chose to have with their people, but that He also cares for those who cannot care for themselves. He says they should follow His example. He reminds the people of how He cared for them while in Egypt — a reminder of how He redeemed them from slavery.This picture of God choosing and redeeming Israel shows what God has done for us. He chose us before time and creation to be His children. He redeemed us from slavery to sin so that we could live as the children He called us to be. As a response to His amazing love and redemption that He provided for us, we are to love and obey Him and love others. Loving others does not earn us salvation, but it does prove that God has made us His children (James 2:14-26).There are many opportunities to respond to our salvation by loving those in need in our city. The Net is an organization with which The Paradox partners. It is doing great work in caring for those in need in our city. Among other things they are working with refugee children providing mentors and spending time caring for them.World Relief provides many vital services to refugees as they attempt to resettle in a new country. World Relief helps connect refugees to things they need to live, like housing, furniture, clothing and employment. They are always looking for people to donate and volunteer their time to help these people adjust to their new homes. For volunteer opportunities check here. Right now they are looking for individuals or City Groups that could adopt a refugee family to love and care for them. They are also having a Thanksgiving Outreach event soon and they need volunteers.People of The Paradox: God has loved us so well by making us His children and caring for us when we could not care for ourselves. I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities that we have by loving others as God loves us. Let us obediently respond by caring for those in need in Fort Worth.