Psalm 88:8
Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast
made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
Fritz had read the horrible stories about AIDS, but never
gave it much thought. Now his doctor was telling him that he had the disease.
Fritz didn't want to die, especially all alone, but he knew that many of his
friends would make themselves scarce as soon as they found out what he had. He
had become a leper, an outcast, with nowhere to turn. Facing death was only a
part of it. Facing life would be even harder.
We do terrible things
to some people in our society. People who suffer greatly need our compassion
and love, but instead they receive our judgment and condemnation. Christ does
not ask us to accept sin, or the results of sin, but He commands us to love the
one who sins. One thing we may never do is cast aside another of God's
children. We do not have that right. The Lord loves all His children, and we
need to learn to love all our sisters and brothers. No one need ever be alone,
if we will extend our hands in love to the sick, the lonely, and the poor.
Prayer: My God, there
are so many suffering people in this world. Lead me to where they are, that I
might give them something of myself that together we may become the family You
made us to be. Amen.
