Dr. Martin Luther King once said: “The well-off and the secure have too often become indifferent and oblivious to the poverty and deprivation in their midst. The poor . . . have been shut out of our minds and driven from the mainstream of our societies, because we have allowed them to become invisible. . . . Ultimately, a great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for ‘the least of these.’ ”

In Joppa, Dorcas must have been viewed as a great person due to her concern for “the least of these.” Luke uses a Greek word that means “female disciple” to describe her (v.36). The term was a high honor for a woman and meant she committed herself to learn the words of Jesus and to pattern her life after His.

This commitment was expressed through her beautiful works on behalf of the poor, especially the widows in Joppa (v.39). Her selfless deeds toward the “least of these” flowed out of her intimate relationship with Jesus (John 15:5). His life was working through her and she was actively seeking to do what Jesus desired. Her good works did not secure her relationship with Him; they proved her relationship with her Savior. These compassionate deeds likely came out of her understanding that she was God’s masterpiece, created in Christ to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). She did not sit back and enjoy her wealth, leaving the work of helping the poor to others. She desired to serve real people in real time, giving her life away to the poor.

Grace has appeared to us in Jesus. Our way of thanking Him is to break open our lives and pour out His love on the broken people around us.