Last Sunday, we had the pleasure of hearing from Mari Muthu, a missionary from India that LifeSpring supports. I had a chance to spend some time with Muthu and hear more about YWAM’s ministry (Youth With a Mission), which is so needed in a place like Mumbai, where Muthu ministers.
Mumbai is the commercial and financial center of India. It is also the home of Bollywood, which is the massive Indian film industry that is well-known globally. However, approximately half of Mumbai’s population live in slums. If we include the people who live in run-down informal housing, this number goes up even more. There is a massive divide in Mumbai between the have and have-nots. As a city, it is one of the most economically divided in the world.
Unlike Toronto, poverty is a very visible reality in the streets of Mumbai. As Muthu said in his sharing, the poor literally live on the street. One of YWAM’s biggest ministries is a food ministry that simply meets people’s basic needs.
All of this reminded me of something similar that we’ve seen on mission trips to Uganda. Similar to Mumbai, poverty is a very visible reality in Ugandan villages. Yet, it is the church that often steps up to fill the need. Often, the government is not properly equipped to take care of the poor in their cities and villages. But it is the local churches and ministries like YWAM that feel a call to care for the people around them.
At the heart of Christianity is something unique, the calling to not ignore those in need. We have verses like Matthew 25: 37-40, where Jesus is speaking about the end times.
Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’
Caring for the poor is one of the most simple and basic acts, yet it is foundational to what it means to be Christian. I’m thankful for Muthu reminding us of that calling, and the fact that we need the whole church working together–whether in Canada or India–to live out verses like the one above.