“…you shall leave them for the poor and the alien:”
The land of Canaan was beautiful and fertile. This was the land God had promised the people of Israel; a fruitful land and a great place to live! God in his infinite mercy and incomparable compassion provided the best place under the sun for the Jews. He was also gracious with the poor and with the foreigners that had made the perilous trek from Egypt.
During harvest season, the people of God were instructed not to reap the entire field. They were also forbidden to gather fallen fruits. These “leftovers” were for the poor and the aliens (not from Mars). Sometimes the saying becomes reality:
“A man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
As believers in Christ, we have the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23), and we bear spiritual fruits as well (John 15:5, 8). This fruit is not designed for self-consumption or self-edification, but to be a channel of God’s blessings unto others. God wants to bless everyone around us, specially the poor and the alien.
The “poor” are those weaker brothers and sisters that need our affirmation. God can use our fruits and gifts to edify these needy Christians in the ways of the Lord. We can also help those who are physically poor, specially our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The “alien” is that person who is living in sin, without Christ and void of hope. He also needs to “eat” the Bread of life and drink the Living Water that we possess. After all, it was Jesus who commanded the apostles, on the feeding of the 5,000:
“…you give them something to eat.”
A. G.
