SESSION OBJECTIVE:

Share about the simple gestures or acts of thoughtfulness you would really appreciate.

THE WORD

1. Read the verses and discover why caring for others is an essential part of our Christian life. Write your answers on the blanks.

a. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world”. – James 1:27

True Religion is _____________________________________________________________________________________.
The quality of our heart is tested not just by our performance of religious duties but more so in our day to day living where we meet people who are rough, obnoxious and irritating. People who are materially wanting, people who are dying for affection, and people who are in need of our love and care.

We have a limited idea of caring when we see it only as giving of alms or visiting the sick. We need to broaden our opinion on caring to include our spoken words, our outlook towards others, and our ways of dealing with everyone.

b. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to 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? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'” – Matthew 25:34-40

Christ takes _________________________________________________________________________________________.
An inseparable part of our relationship with Christ is our love for our fellowmen. We cannot ignore our fellowmen and yet remain in a healthy communion with Him. One author said that we enter into fellowship with Christ only through the door of human relationships. It is there that we can meet Him. It is through them that we can love Him. And thus it also follows that it is by being rough and cruel to them that we crucify Christ again in our hearts.

c. “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” – Galatians 5:14

Reaching out to others is ___________________________________________________________________________.
This verse implies that your regard for yourself is shown by your regard for others. Psychologically, a person’s inability to love and care for others is caused by his inability to truly love himself. Loving others then is not just a mandate for other’s welfare but also for our good.

“The mandate to ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself’ is not just a moral mandate. It is a psychological mandate. Caring is biological. One thing you get from caring for others is you’re not lonely. And the more connected you are to life the healthier you are.” – James Lynch

“When you share yourself with others, life finds its meaning. The time you touch the lives of others is the moment you truly lived.” – Anonymous

Loving others is a command given for our own sake. By caring for others we will be able to escape the narrow and shallow existence of just living for our own interest and convenience. And we grow in character similar to Him who commanded us to love-we grow to be like Christ.

2. How can one have a caring heart?

a. “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” – I John 4:8

By starting to _______________________________________________________________________________________.
Caring, just like all other virtue, only grows as they are employed. No matter how unused we are to care, perhaps we have been long accustomed to only thinking about our own interests, yet it can be developed by acting it out coupled with a sincere desire to learn it. As the act is done again and again, a habit will form and soon it becomes a trait and character.

The CARE Group is really a laboratory where the virtue of caring is intentionally practiced among members. It is a part of their commitment to look for each others welfare and uphold one another. And the goal is for the members to eventually make a habit of caring.

b. “If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.” -Romans 14:15

By looking at ________________________________________________________________________________________.
We can never really see the value of each person unless we see it in the light of what Christ sacrificed for them. And when we learn to see each person in the light of the cross, then each person will become a sacred trust for us to keep and care for, in the name of Christ.

c. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love,” – Galatians 5:2

By surrendering ____________________________________________________________________________________.
The ability to sincerely care is not inherent in man. Often times what we see as caring are only manipulations done by others to get what hey want. This is never really caring and even immoral. True caring is reaching out and working for the good of others without the thought of anything in return.

THE LIFE

Talk about the person who cared for you the most and how that person’s love created an impact in your life.

Identify one person you need to care more. What can you do to demonstrate your concern? Write a plan of action for this week.

Name of person to care for: _______________________________________________________

Plan of action: _________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THROUGH SONG

I Would Be True

I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there are those to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare.

I would be friend of all the foe, the friendless;
I would be giving, and forget the gift;
I would be humble, for I know my weakness;
I would look up, and laugh, and love, and lift;
I would look up, and laugh, and love and lift.

THROUGH PRAYER

One way to care for others is to pray for them. Pray for your group mates and for the other persons in your life you wanted to reach out to. Pray also that God will give you a caring heart that you might also broadcast His love to others.