Two numbers often occupy my thoughts and motivate how I live my life on a daily basis. The numbers fluctuate, but at times there have been reported 3,000 homeless people living in Santa Cruz at any one time. Many of them are single mothers and children. Some of them I've been blessed to personally meet through spending time at the Homeless Service Center here in Santa Cruz or through serving at other organizations in town. There are 143 million orphans around the world. Daily I ask God and ponder how he personally desires me to respond.
As an apprentice to Jesus and walking in the "Way" we can't ignore those in need closest to us, nor can we choose to not acknowledge the plight of how the majority of the world lives. Whether it is a homeless person down the street in need or an orphan on the other side of the world, God desires compassion to manifest itself in and through our lives to both. For if our internal being is truly being shaped into the likeness of Christ himself, I don't know how we can ignore either for they both are need of God's tangible love.
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