I went on a safari in the Masai Mara a couple years back.
It was incredible. We saw a pride of lions, a herd of wildebeests, the most graceful giraffes and, honestly, the ugliest warthogs (Disney really misled me with Pumbaa – warthogs are not even a little bit cute).
But I was most captivated by the elephants.
We came across a herd and could see a baby elephant as we drew near. She was sleeping.
As we go closer, seven or eight adult elephants took their place around her and glared at us until we’d moved on.
Our guide explained that elephants are a protective species. They care for the most vulnerable among their herd. They surround the youngest so that if a predator attacks, the strongest of the herd can defend the weakest.
Jesus did the same. He cared for the most vulnerable. He defended the weak.
Actually, if you pay attention to the whole story of the Bible, you’ll notice that God cares deeply for the poor, widows, orphans, and outcasts.
He has called us to surround the weak and the vulnerable. He has called us to love and protect the weakest among us.
That includes, of course, the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the outcasts.
It also includes our friends and family members struggling in their marriage or with an addiction or through a devastating diagnosis or dealing with doubts and questions.
We’re called to surround one another. To protect one another. To defend one another.
If you’ve ever been surrounded, protected, defended by those that love you, you know how it matters.
So, do that – be that – for others.