This week has been an educational one. I learnt many lessons.

I learnt that people do things to please God, not to please me. Therefore, I don't have to be happy with other people's working style. If God is happy with them, who am I to be upset?

I learnt that poverty is more than just a word. There is a reason why I learn at uni that academic achievement is linked to SES. There is a reason why I learn that poverty is a vicious cycle; that youth who do well do well because they have ample resources accessible; that those who do not do well lack resources. There is a reason why I learn that reality is so cruel. Yes, reality is cruel, but God isn't.

Today at church, we learnt about Psalm 113:5-9. God who sits 'up there' has a big heart for the poor; He raises them up from the dust, and He sits them with princes.

I am reminded that I am, and will be, involved in a ministry of hope. A ministry of giving hope to people who may not see any future for themselves. Make a difference in the life of one person, and it does make a huge impact. Poverty is a reality of life, and there's heaps of people who go through it. Sure, we can't change the whole world, but you can make a difference in the life of one child. And it makes a whole lot of difference. When I did not see any future for myself, someone saw a future for me. And it made a whole lot of difference. It meant the world to me, and you can still see the impact in my life today.

To know God is to love the poor and present the cause of the oppressed and needy.. (can't remember the name of the guy who said this)

Do you agree?

The LORD who created the heavens and the earth, who sent Jesus to die for our sins, has a big heart for the needy. How should we respond in light of this? How should that change the way we manage our resources - time, money, etc?

What do we see when we look at another person? What are we seeing, and what should we be seeing?

To all educators out there, you are involved in a ministry of hope =) And to everyone else out there, you too, are involved in a ministry of hope. The roots of it, is in the hope offered to us by Jesus Christ, an everlasting hope that will never die..