Michael Jackson, Jesus, and starvation

Maybe it's a little weird that words from the mouth of the "king of pop" would cause me to consider the words of "The King of Kings" and "Lord of Lords", but Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror has been reverberating in my head for the past two weeks and reminding of Jesus' own words to His followers. Jesus stated emphatically that He had come to seek and to save the lost; He came to bring ultimate healing (spiritual) to humanity. Along the way He modeled for us what it means to be a servant of all. Jesus was the one who would touch the leper, the blind, the deaf and mute, the demon-possessed, the child who had died or simply needed a blessing; he reached out to the poorest of the poor and the destitute. Those who weren't "upper crust" in society were just the ones that He sought to impact. Jesus stated that he had "not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."

I heard recently that 16,000 children will die today alone from starvation related illness...just think about that! I could go on and on about the ills and suffering that exists in the world beyond this as well. But it begs the question of what will those of us who have food enough do about it? The same for any other need that exists around us. Who will reach out and make a difference? This is where the king of pop comes in: "as I turned up the collar on a favorite winter coat the wind is blowin my mind I see the kids in the street with not enough to eat who am I to be blind pretending to see their needs...I am starting with the man in the mirror...if you wanna make the world a better place just look at yourself and make a change."

This lyric speaks to us all, but it should have special meaning for followers of Christ. We not only have the responsibility to reach out in love and meet the practical needs all around us, but we have the "bread" that everyone most needs- the "Bread of Life"- Jesus Christ. But we are selfish with this spiritual food just like we are with physical food. God help a Christian or community of Christians ("church") that turns a blind eye to the either the physical or spiritual needs all around them. Judgment awaits the "country club" Christian and churches that are so prevalent today. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done..." (2 Corinthians 5:10).