Christian Comment with Will Mansell of Stroud Foodbank

ONE of the core messages that is repeated in the Bible is the requirement for followers of Jesus to look after the orphan, widow and refugees within our midst.

It remains one of the hallmarks of Christian faith to this day.

However, what is often less commented upon is that Jesus spent most of his earthly life encouraging not just the powerful to pick up this mantle but also for orphans, widows and refugees to be generous.

I have been reflecting on this principle at the relaunch of Stroud District Kids Stuff (strouddistrictkidsstuff.org.uk), a local Christian organisation that aims to help the most vulnerable children in the area get clothes and other items they need, but can’t afford, for free.

To mark the relaunch of the project we have set up a campaign called Children for Children where we are asking 1,000 children to raise £10 each for another child in the need.

We have schools, churches and individuals taking part and have already raised £400.

However, whilst the money is a clear objective and will be vital to the development of the project, the bigger principle at play is this we are all called to look after the vulnerable, even if we are not powerful ourselves.

This campaign is asking children to take a stand even though it is often their parents that have power.

In the same way, for all of us, we need to take seriously the call to look after the vulnerable even when we want to point the blame at others.

We might blame governments, the “one per cent” or corporations and then might claim that we are unable to make a difference.

However, the lesson from Jesus throughout his life was that we are all part of the solution and if we are not actively caring for the widow, orphan or refugee our religion is worthless.

If more people in our society took active steps to help the vulnerable, the powerful wouldn’t be as much of a problem.

Jesus tells us act first, love mercy and be the solution ourselves.