“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27
Because they were alone, pastors, deacons, and bishops were instructed to visit the orphans and widows and take care of their needs. I know a lot about both of these people groups and certainly not because I’m a pastor or bishop.
1. Orphans: a subject dear to my heart. I’ve made 16 trips to Romania to work with orphans in a government-run hospital. I’ve seen and dealt with just about everything. Our teams cared for orphans who were not only abandoned, but also some were HIV positive, had Down syndrome, were hydrocephalic, and some were dying. I’ve seen couples walk into a hospital, sign abandonment papers, turn over their newborn baby, and walk away. The baby was inconvenient for them. Imagine a healthy, perfect baby being inconvenient!
I’ve held a newborn baby girl (diagnosed with Down syndrome who had been abandoned to die) just so a human touch would console her as she took her last breath. These kinds of events change your worldview about humanity and the lengths they will go in selfishness. Caring for orphans is a privilege, not a chore or an inconvenience. It’s our responsibility.
2. Widows: now there’s a subject I also know from personal experience. My husband of forty years died when he was 60. Besides my family, my pastor, the deacons, and the body of Christ were the main forces during my bereavement. They still are! They comfort me, love me unconditionally, allow me space, and provide for me as believers should. I have family, and Scripture says in I Timothy 5 that if you have family they are to help you first, and they do. But my church family is like my own family and they care for me in other ways. Like praying for me when I go out speaking or on a ministry trip, or by sending me cards on the anniversary of my husband’s death. I know the body of Christ is there when I need them. It’s more than a comfort to me.
3. Purity, or keeping oneself unspotted from the world, is a mighty big order. My only thought on this is that if we’re in the body of Christ, doing His work and accomplishing His plan for our lives, we won’t have time to become spotted with the world’s view of life. The Prince of this world, satan (sorry, I won’t give him the recognition a capital deserves!) won’t be able to get our attention because we are focused purely on doing God’s will and plan for us. We’re not being constrained within the walls of the world doing satan’s bidding. We’ve expanded ourselves to heavenly bidding!
So care for the orphans, console the widows, and keep yourself separate and unspotted from what the world would have you do and be. The rewards are unbelievable. You might even say they are heaven sent!
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