After the first World War, the United States, with its big heart, gave vast sums of money to the dislocated orphans of Europe, but they didn't have enough to meet the need. In one of the places where they were taking in orphans, a man came in, very thin with large, unnaturally bright eyes, thin cheeks and thin arms, leading a little girl. She also showed signs of malnutrition--eyes too large and bright, her little abdomen distended and her thin little legs and arms too small and too thin for her age.
This man led her in and said to the person in charge, "I would like you to take in my little girl." And they asked him if she was his daughter.
"Yes," he said.
"Well," they said, "we're awfully sorry, but our rule here is that only full orphans can receive any help. If one of the parents is living, then we can't take responsibility because we just don't have enough. There are too many full orphans for us to take a half orphan."
And he looked down at his little girl, and she looked up questioningly with big, too-bright eyes, and then he turned and said, "Well, you know, I can't work. I'm sick. I've been abused. I have been in prison. I've been half-starved, and now I'm old and I can't work. I can barely stagger around. But I brought her down for you to take care of her."
And they said, "We're sorry, but there's nothing we can do."
He said, "You mean that if I were dead, you'd take care of my little girl and feed her and she could live here and have clothing and a home?" They said, "Yes." Then he reached down and pulled her skinny little body up to himself and hugged her hard and kissed her. Then he put her hand in the hand of the man at the desk, and said, "I'll arrange that," and walked out of the room and committed suicide.
As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pities them that fear Him.
Mercy was showing compassion in the only way it could at the moment; by dying. So Christ Jesus our Lord died there on that cross, for He loved us and pitied us as a father pities his children.
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