Others

Recently, I heard quoted that a good preacher articulates what the listener was already thinking but didn't know how to put it to words. If this is true, Israel Houghton preaches extremely well in his song Others. Not only in this song but in so many of his songs and in his life, he speaks about the cry of the poor and the cry of God for us to meet the needs of the poor.

To explain, here are the words of the song:

I hear the state of the world and it grieves me
I hear the cries of the broken from the rich and the poor
Smell the fear of disease all around me
I feel responsible now that I have seen
Because we all were born to live for more than this

So I wanna love like you love, Love like you love
Wanna love others the way that you love me
I wanna love like you love, Love like you love
Wanna love others the way that you love me

I've held the children unseen and they move me
I wonder what I can do to improve a thousand lives
I feel the absence of love and it scares me
I feel responsible now that I have seen
Because we all were born to live for more than this

I was that lost soul that you rescued
I was that orphan you adopted and brought into your heart
I was acquainted with the hopelessness of living in the streets
That was me

Now I'm gonna love like you love, Love like you love
Help me love others the way that you love me
I'm gonna forgive like you forgave, Rescue like you have saved
I'm gonna love others the way that you love me.

God has done so much for me. He blessed me into a beautiful country where we don't have to worry about dying from much other than our own lifestyles. He saved me from myself and sprinkled and poured his grace over my life when I was lost and when I got lost again in my own self. He has blessed me with a beautiful home and five healthy, healthy kids. I have an income that surpasses probably 50% of the worlds population.

I am blessed to be a blessing?

We say that and yet we underestimate our ability to be a blessing. If God has blessed us then we have a responsibility to be a blessing. We are surrounded with wealth, where in countries like Ethiopia, they are surrounded with the deadly reality of poverty and disease. Can I not just give beyond what I am already giving to make a change, as Israel says in his song - to improve a thousand lives.

Well, actually, yes I can. Last year, I was sent a proposal from a friend of mine in Ethiopia. An amazing man who wants to see his people's lives improved. His proposal is so thorough. It reminded me of proposals that I have put together for funding - ambitious, yet well thought through. A man who is willing to stand in the gap for his community, realising that somewhere out there, God has an answer to his prayer. He's been so proactive about it. He's already spent a year putting a water system in place in another village, received funding, then developed and educated a whole community on health while showing and speaking to them God's love.

Because of this great work, the government has given his trust board charitable status and his vision has expanded to another area, where no one has yet touched. This is the area, I have an opportunity to help. And maybe so do you.

This year, my project will be to raise money for this project. God sent me an angel to help me along. She is my daughter Lydia. Almost everyday, she reminds me that we need to do something. At the end of last year, her and her cousin put together a Charity idea. It is yet to be released, but it will be released and they will tell their story and you will have the opportunity to support. I hope you do. Watch this space!