When we want to fix a screw we should not use a hammer. When we change a light bulb we do not want a spanner. When I cut the grass on a lawn I do not want to use kitchen scissors! These are all tools and good, useful tools they are too, but they are only good when they do what they were designed to do. Try to use the wrong tool and it will take you twice as long and may even hinder your progress if it is any use at all.
I was reading of a development agency that collected money from Christians in wealthy countries and used it to but tools and seeds for villages in Africa. They used an African Church to be the means of getting the tools to the people who could make best use of them. These tools were accompanied by instructions and training to empower the local people to be able to take control of their own local environment and make a difference in their community.
The tools were inexpensive but by putting the right tools in the hands of the right people huge changes could be achieved as people took responsibility for their own development and saw the potential of what they could now do.
As Christians in the rich world the tool we have to help our brothers and sisters in the poor world are the development agencies that can take the small sums of money which we give and work with local trusted partners to make our love come alive. Christan love in the abstract is a meaningless concept. It needs to be concrete and real to be worth anything and to change the world. Through these agencies we can put our love into action and we can make a real difference.
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