Life for the fatherless was difficult in the ancient world. Children were often left with no recourse but to beg, and it could be far worse for widows. Again and again, in the Bible, we read commands like the one found in Zechariah Jesus came with that same heart but called his followers to go beyond merely not devising evil against the oppressed. Instead, he called us to identify with them, to make a home and a family for them. When Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor," he called us to be that blessing by identifying with the poor and being a family for the fatherless.