Weekly devotion: How do you respond to uncomfortable realities?
Aviv Ministry, Israel
Volunteers serve hot soup outside the Aviv Centre
This week we’re praying for our partner, Aviv Ministry, located in south Tel Aviv. As a social ministry, it provides practical support to people living on the streets.
Dedicated to living out their faith – to ‘act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with [their] God’ (Micah 6:8) – the volunteers at the Aviv Centre don’t just wait for people to come to their drop-in centre; they go out into the streets to make initial contact with people, including visits to nearby brothels. At the Centre, they provide hot meals, medical aid and clothing for people with substance-abuse disorders.
Since the Aviv Centre first opened its doors in 2012 at least 25 people have successfully gone through rehabilitation, entered work and built healthy relationships and families. Some have now become volunteers at the Aviv Centre.
Bible reading
‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 25: 35-40
Thought
The Aviv Centre is staffed by volunteers – people who are motivated by Christ’s love to give freely of their time and minister to the needs of others. As the parable above reminds us, we have a choice between retreating from uncomfortable situations and realities, or pressing forward to respond with Jesus’ love and hope.
Ask yourself: What are the greatest needs you see around you? What would be a Christ-like response to those needs?
Prayer
Father God,
We thank you for the ministry of the Aviv Centre and we pray for the people it serves. We are deeply saddened by the trauma and difficult circumstances that so many have experienced and we pray that they would find refuge and hope at Aviv. We pray especially for those who have committed to going to rehab and we pray that you would sustain them as they change direction in their lives.
In our own lives, help us not to turn away from uncomfortable realities or people in need. Open our eyes to the many, many needs around us and help us to respond in love.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
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