Children & the Vulnerable (Compassionate Hearts)
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข What is the importance of children in the family or a society? How have you seen or experienced the value of placing children in a family?
โข How do you react when you see a vulnerable child or woman? How do others around you react?ย
โข Why is it important to help travelers, children without families, or women without empowerment or protection? What happens when they are not helped or supported?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ช๐ต. ๐๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด. . . . ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ด๐ญ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐จ๐บ๐ฑ๐ต; ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด.โย ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฐ:๐ญ๐ต,๐ฎ๐ฎ
(Read also ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฐ:๐ฎ๐ฌโ๐ฎ๐ญ.)
God especially commanded the Israelites to provide for the traveler, the fatherless children, and disempowered women. These three were particularly vulnerable in society. They do not belong to the state they are in or have no providers or protectors.ย
Before we became part of Godโs family, we experienced oppression to sin and vulnerability to fear. As people of God, we know how it feels when God steps in on our behalf, giving us a sense of belonging, protection, and provision. Of all people, then, how should we respond and serve children and the vulnerable?
๐ญ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ท๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐ฒ๐๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ผ๐.ย
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ. ๐๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ.โย ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฐ:๐ฎ๐ฌ
Vulnerable people are unable to change their situations by their own power. Such vulnerability may be due to poverty, disability, displacement, unfamiliarity, or absence of someone to speak or act on their behalf. Godโs word is clear: His people are to share what they have left over with those who are vulnerable. Who would you say are vulnerable persons around you?ย
๐ฎ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ.ย
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฑ ๐ช๐ต ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ. ๐๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ.โ ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฐ:๐ฎ๐ญ
We are not to ignore the presence of the vulnerable in our society. Especially if we have enough to provide for ourselves, our families, and to make a continued living. God told His people that after they had gathered the harvest, they were not to go back for every last piece of fruit. This is so that there would be food left for those who are in need. Likewise, we should deliberately set aside part of our resources to help the desperate. Share a time you were in need and someone extended generosity to you. What happened? How was that experience for you?
๐ฏ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ต ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐.
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ช๐ต. ๐๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด. . . . ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ด๐ญ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐จ๐บ๐ฑ๐ต; ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด.โย ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฐ:๐ญ๐ต,๐ฎ๐ฎ
God does not expect our compassion to come out of nowhere. In Deuteronomy, He reminded the Israelites that they had also experienced oppression and vulnerability as slaves in Egypt. Of all people, they should know how it feels to have no possessions or protection. In the same way, as former slaves to sin and present children of God, we too should show compassion.ย
At the same time, God promises blessings when we step out in compassion for the vulnerable. He promises to bless us in all the work of our hands. God does not only provide for the vulnerable, He provides for us as we share His blessings with others. What extra resources do you have that you can share?
When we use the material blessings God has given us to help those in need, it produces a harvest of righteousnessโpeople thanking and praising God for providing for them through us. People are drawn to God because of our submission to God in being generous. Together, we look forward to an inheritance of an eternal home and a forever Father.ย
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข God loved us first and freed us from oppression. Do you remember the feeling of vulnerability? How did it feel when you experienced God's freedom, and how can you be a conduit for others to experience this as well?
โข Are there any organizations you are familiar with who support vulnerable people? What can you do to support them?ย
โข Consider the idea of setting aside an amount regularly that you can give to those in need. What will it take for you to do this, and how can you make steps towards this?
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for His compassion on you and His salvation freely given to you.ย
โข Ask God to give you a heart for marginalized people, especially children with no fathers and disempowered women.ย
โข Pray and ask God for opportunities and open doors to reach out to people who have been marginalized by society. Pray for empowerment by the Holy Spirit, courage, wisdom and boldness to step out of your comfort zone to help and support others.ย