It’s easy to get busy and forget about the poor. There are many “good” activities we do within the ministry of a church: discipling people in small groups, visiting church members in the hospital, organizing kids ministry, or caring for the church building to make it look good. Those are all good things. Those are all important things.
While the apostle Paul had been helping the poor, he also was in a battle for the gospel. A group of people were following Paul and deceiving his new converts saying that salvation by faith was not good enough. They were teaching that people also needed to follow the Law too! This gospel battle led Paul to Jerusalem to verify his gospel message was correct. Paul describes his trip in his letter to the believers in the region of Galatia:
“Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. . . Seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do” (Galatians 2:1-2, 7-10, NASB)
In the middle of Paul’s battle for the truth of the gospel we see the importance of serving others. Believing the right things wasn’t enough. He was also told to care for the poor. Paul says he was “eager” (v. 10) to do that. And we know he practiced what he preached. In Acts 24:17 Paul brings money from the Gentiles to the poor Jewish believers in Jerusalem. Similar acts of charity are facilitated by Paul in Romans 15:25-28 and 2 Corinthians 8:13-14; 9:12-13.
All of us (that call ourselves Christians) are called to help the poor. What if we all had one person or family that we helped significantly? It could be an elderly person that needs help fixing the sprinklers in their lawn. Or a single adult that lives alone and is sick and needs someone to pick up medicine. Or a young family that might need someone to watch their kid so they could have a date night. We all must focus on the poor. Just as God’s love and grace has been extended to us, we too should extend God’s love and grace to others. And we can do that by ministering to one person or family.