I heard a faint cry for help. It wasn’t until I turned around and saw this man sitting on the sidewalks, hunched back and begging for food. His face looked pale, and his eye sockets hollow. His hands gnarled. There was despair writ large on his face. I couldn’t simply walk by without my conscience telling me to go back and do something about it. So, I walked into a restaurant and bought a hot lunch of rice and Indian curry. I hurriedly went back and gave it to this hungry man. He was shocked that someone would care to buy him lunch.

I saw life flowing back into his empty face. He ravenously ate that box of rice and curry. His eyes lit up. I told him, “Jesus loves you.” Jesus is feeding you. It’s not me. It’s God. It dawned on me that God can test our capacity to love a stranger by disguising himself as a beggar. Could He? Can God disguise himself like that to see how people treat beggars? More specifically, how Christians who profess faith in Him would treat a stranger begging for food on the street. Yes, He can. After all, we read in the Bible, in Mathew 25 and verse 35, it reads, “I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in;.”

Ever since that day on the sidewalks in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, as part of our missions, we decided not only to offer food for the homeless, which we do but also to provide Food Kits consisting of enough groceries to feed a family of four for a month. And guess what? For a small amount of twenty dollars, we can do that. Just think of it. For twenty American dollars, when converted to the local currency of that country, we can buy enough groceries to feed a small family with essential food items for a month. After all, twenty dollars doesn’t even come close to a good steak in a decent restaurant in America. Or maybe four cups of Starbucks coffee.

As part of our missions in Asia, we are doing just that. We are identifying needy families who are hungry and providing them with a food kit. Millions in India live in dire poverty. Forced by poverty and with no systematic way of finding help, many go to bed hungry. Especially children. As believers in Christ, it is our responsibility to help the poor and needy. The Bible is very clear and specific. Jesus himself says, I was hungry, and you gave me food. How can God be hungry? God is showing us that by caring for the poor and needy, we serve God directly. We become His hands and feet in carrying out the gospel and showing love in tangible ways. Consider what that would do for a poor family somewhere in Asia next time you go to a restaurant and spend more money here in America. Let’s be the hands and feet of Jesus. Launch Asia Ministries is committed to ending hunger in parts of Asia in partnership with other groups and organizations. We want to demonstrate the love of God in practical ways as we share the life-transforming gospel of Jesus Christ.