Widows and Religion

James 1:27 – “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

Loneliness is classified among the most severe of human adversities. To be separated from others and to feel rejected can lead a person to the lowest level of despair. This is very dramatically illustrated by the following article in one of our daily newspapers: “I’m so lonely I could die,” said the writer of a letter to the editor, “My phone never rings. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one on the earth. All alone, I see no one; hear no one. O dear God, please help me. Will somebody please call me!” The letter contained a dollar bill and six stamps for anybody who would call or write.

What a tragedy! In a city teeming with millions of people, here was a forgotten soul starving for just a word of concern or cheer from someone…..anybody!
Let’s bring this right home. Are there widows in your circle who are being neglected? Are there fatherless children in your Church who need companionship and loving guidance? Are there “shut-in” neighbors who would welcome a kind word, a visit or a helping hand? Could they be asking, “Where is everyone? Where are all the Christians? Where are those expressions of brotherly love they talk about?”

The apostle Paul admonishes us in Galatians 6:10, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
If each person reading this devotional would faithfully visit, telephone or show a personal interest in those who are lonely and discouraged, what a welcome outpouring of the sunshine of God’s love would illuminate the dark world of the forgotten. Remember, “Pure religion…is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.”