Lincoln Brewster - OxygenSample

The Lonely Around Us

Devotional for the song "Heartbeat"

You've probably heard some variation of Bob Pierce's quote: "Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God." There can be a great unifying force in those words if we'll stop and pay attention to them. Instead of constantly focusing on the things that so often divide us, why not marshal our energies around those things that have the power to unite us, those things that cause God's heart to break?

Of course, that raises the question – Well, what breaks God's heart? It's a fair question, and God answers it for us with a clarity that's impossible to deny.

James writes - Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27) If pressed to say what should unite us, that's a great summary.

Our collective Christ-infused hearts should beat for literal widows and orphans, always. But here's something to ponder - what about the figurative ones? What about those who have been widowed from someone or something they dearly loved, and now their days are full of grief? And what about those who have been orphaned due to tragedy of some kind, those who now feel utterly alone and cut off from the flow of life? In a very real sense, we're talking about the same people – the lonely who are around us on every side.

Our hearts should break for the lonely. God's heart breaks for the lonely. To come together as the people of God and to be His hands and feet in caring for the lonely could just be the thing that causes the world to stop and look and say, "See how they love one another!"

That was what the Romans used to say as they saw the actions and behaviors of the early Christians: "See how they love one another." Of all the things the world says about us today, wouldn't it be wonderful if that line experienced a revival?

Dear Church, let us be accused in these last days of something to be proud of, something that generates hope and healing, something that scripture assures us brings joy to the very heart of our God. Let us be tried and found guilty of but one thing – love.