One evening Jenny said, “Pastor Mike showed us a video about poor people in India. So many families live in slums, and the little kids play right by open sewers in the streets.” She shook her head. “It’s horrible.” I could tell that my daughter’s heart had been touched, and I prayed that the Lord would continue to give her compassion for the poor.

Jenny began helping organize bake sales at her Christian school and car washes with her friends on weekends. She also convinced several friends to donate a portion of the money they earned from babysitting, mowing lawns, and part-time jobs to the growing fund for the poor.

But I was most proud of Jenny when she invited her friends over for her sixteenth birthday party. She asked them to donate the money they would have spent on presents to a Christian organization that helps people in India and some of the surrounding countries in south Asia. The highlight of the party was when they went through a catalog the organization provided and chose gifts for the needy, such as blankets, garden tools, and water filters. They even purchased livestock—goats, chickens, and rabbits so impoverished families could have a source of income and food, as well as learning about the love of Jesus.

Throughout God’s Word, we read of His compassion on others, especially the poor. Psalm 103:13 says, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.” Psalm 82:4 instructs us to “rescue the poor and needy.”