Visiting Widows

by Victoria Thacker

"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

I used this verse in my last article and told you I would expound upon the word "Visit" this month. To clarify the meaning of the word, I'm using the rule of "first mention." (If you are unfamiliar with this rule, it is the way a word is used the first time it appears in Scripture.) I find this to be a far more accurate way than just going by a dictionary rendering, because meaning of words change over the years. The first mention of the word "visit" is located in Genesis 50:24. Joseph was getting ready to die and said "... and God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land ..." Joseph was leaving the Israelites and did not want to leave them without hope. What hope was Joseph leaving the Israelites with? The hope was that God would surely visit them! He wouldn't leave them out in the cold, fending for themselves. He would not abandon them. When Joseph used to word visit, he didn't mean God would pop by, drop by or do a once in a blue moon check-up. It didn't mean the customary condolence call, nor was it one of those ritual house calls; or the "call me if you need me." If it was, there wouldn't have been very much hope or comfort in that. The definition of the word Visit in Genesis 50 means, God would be with the Israelites until they were safely out of the woods (Egypt) and back home (out of danger, out of harms way, and out of peril). As long as the Israelites resided in Egypt there was the threat of evil surrounding them. God, the Father, was committed to helping the Israelites.

I used to be ashamed to admit how desperately needy I was after my husband died. I didn't want to be alone. I could have used someone stopping by regularly to help me deal with my grief, to weep with me and tell me everything was going to be okay. Why was I ashamed to say that? Because I felt weak. In many religious circles today it is viewed as unspiritual to be "grief-stricken." So instead of baring one's heart, we pull out the standard answers that Christians are accostomed to hearing. "I'm holding up well, my husband is in a far better place, he wouldn't come back even if he could." I know born-again believers do not grieve in the same manner as a lost person. However, there is much sorrow involved when one suffers from a broken heart. God has visited me in the wee hours of the morning, holding me safe till the dawn's light appears. He didn't leave me in the deserate hours of my life, He was there - giving me Hope.

In James 1:27 pure relgion boils down to two things; visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction. God wants us to be burden bearers, to have charitable hearts and relive the afflictions of others. Even though I was a postor's wife for many years, I never grasped how widows are afflicted. My eyes were hidden to their heartache, behind rose-colored glasses. My father had died in 1975, so surely I knew how to deal with death. I was so wrong. For me there was no comparison between the two deaths. There is not enough space in this paper for me to explain it.

The Bible speaks of pure gold and pure oil. For something to be pure it cannot contain any dross. When we attend unto the widows and the fatherless, God says this is Pure Religion. Many people from America visit third world countries, and come back full of compassion for the needs of these countries. But they had to visit for themselves before they comprehended the conditions these folks live in and the needs that they have. More visits equate knowledge. The more you visit and are around someone, the more you become aware of their needs.

Numbers 4:49 "According to the commandment of the Lord they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden..." Will you be numbered among those of your congregation in service by bearing another's burden?