Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Global Food Crisis Day

One of my favorite descriptions of God found in the Scriptures is the phrase: "The Lord is gracious and compassionate." (Psalm 145:8, among numerous references.) I love that word "compassion." It's a great word. It derives from two Latin roots meaning "to suffer together." How cool is it that we have a God who is not distant and uncaring, but who suffers with us, who feels our pain and cares about our sufferings.

One of my favorite organizations chose this word for it's name: Compassion International. Compassion is dedicated to one thing, releasing children from poverty. That's a cause I can support with all my heart. Today Compassion promoted "Global Food Crisis Day," a day to call attention to the millions and millions of people around the world who cannot afford even a most basic food supply. We think times are tough in the US right now. In some ways they are. But our tough times would seem like paradise to so many people in the world. Food prices have been rising sharply around the world, which affects all of us. But it affects you far more if you only have $1 a day or less to live on and the price of flour, bread or rice just doubled. That's what happened in the last year we were living overseas and we saw the impact it had on families. Most of us as Americans can economize and still get plenty to eat. Not so for many in the world. They have no room to economize, so they do without.

God calls us to have compassion, just as he is compassionate. How can we show compassion to those who are less fortunate than us, especially when they live in far-away countries? One way is to sponsor a child through Compassion. By giving a mere $36 a month you can provide a child with food, an education and a chance for a better future. Or you can give what you are able to help provide food to the hungry. Visit Compassion's website at www.compassion.com to find out more. There are other good organizations doing similar work, but I can vouch for Compassion's integrity because I've supported them for more than 20 years.

Check out this blog (there are several posts following this one) for a first-hand account of some sponsors visiting their Compassion children in the Dominican Republic. Their stories are powerful and moving.

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