I CAME TO YOU AS AN ORPHAN

I came to you in a time of great need.
You had no place for me.
I came to spend time with you, so that you might know me better
and you were too busy for me.

I came to you as an orphan child in need of love
and you could not be bothered.
What I saw was the real condition of your heart.
I saw that you were unwilling to sacrifice anything of true cost.
You value your comfort above all
and your faith consists of what you can see.
How I long for you to truly trust me.

Time and time again I cry out to you in the guise of someone in need.
Over and over you pray me that you want to know me better.
I present you with the opportunity and you do not recognize me.
Oh, how I long for you to truly understand who I really am.

I am the orphan,
I am the widow,
I am the person you walk by and refuse to look at.
I am the hungry, the oppressed, the sick and the homeless.
It isn't that I can't live without you - it is you that can't live without me.
They exist so that you will know me.
Your response to the need is a reflection of your heart.

Loving God is first, but loving others as you love yourself is next.
Are you willing to love the orphan as you love your own child?
Are you willing to care for others as you would yourself?
Until you understand this, you will always long to know me in a deeper way.
You will never understand joy, until you understand the need.