Christian Mission and Poverty

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Christian Mission and Poverty

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”

God sustains man in the same way he sustains all other living creatures. As the psalm (147:9) says, “He gives to all flesh their food, and to the young ravens which cry unto him.” Again, in Psalm 104, “The eyes of all look to you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, and fill every living creature with blessings,” that is, with fullness and sufficiency. Now no animal works for its living, but each has its own task to perform, after which it seeks and finds its food. The little birds fly about and warble, make nests, and hatch their young. That is their task. But they do not gain their living from it. Oxen plow, horses carry their riders and have a share in battle; sheep furnish wool, milk, cheese, etc. That is their task. But they do not gain their living from it. It is the earth which produces grass and nourishes them through God’s blessing. Christ himself, in Matthew 6[:26], bids us look at the birds: how they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; yet they are fed by God.