Matthew 25:37-40 says...
Today's verses are Matthew 25:37-40 which read,
37 - Then the righteous will answer Him, "Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
38 - And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
39 - When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?"
40 - The King will answer and say to them, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me."
I think what always strikes me about this passage is that they have to ask "when" they were doing this. "When" did we see You in all these situations that we came to give You something to eat and something to drink? "When" did we come to invite You in and clothe You? "When" did we visit You when sick or in prison? The idea that pops out at me is that they were already doing this but did not attribute it as connected with God. They did not see how connected God was to His church when He says, "...even the least of them, you did it to Me."
There will be God's people who are hungry and thirsty and needing shelter and clothing and someone to come and visit while sick and those put in prison (very possible following Jesus' day when Christianity would be illegal). Those who follow Christ will display the fruit of the Spirit that manifests itself in these ways to the outside world.
I think the lesson here is not that we do these things to have God love us more (He already gave His Son on the cross and raised Him for us) but that it does show our love to God. God and the church are so connected that when we care for those of His family, it is something done for or to Him. I need to be reminded of this when I get an interruption in "my" schedule and God gives me someone to care for. I need to see it as "bigger" than what is in front of me. I have an opportunity to show God that I love Him back and those opportunities are all around me.
When you walk into church tomorrow, look around. God loves those people that you are looking at and when you love them in the most basic ways you are showing love to God and not just the individual in front of you. I know this lesson because it is in the Bible so I shouldn't ask the question "when" anymore but I should be asking of God daily the questions "who and where?"
Pastor Adam
37 - Then the righteous will answer Him, "Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
38 - And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
39 - When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?"
40 - The King will answer and say to them, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me."
I think what always strikes me about this passage is that they have to ask "when" they were doing this. "When" did we see You in all these situations that we came to give You something to eat and something to drink? "When" did we come to invite You in and clothe You? "When" did we visit You when sick or in prison? The idea that pops out at me is that they were already doing this but did not attribute it as connected with God. They did not see how connected God was to His church when He says, "...even the least of them, you did it to Me."
There will be God's people who are hungry and thirsty and needing shelter and clothing and someone to come and visit while sick and those put in prison (very possible following Jesus' day when Christianity would be illegal). Those who follow Christ will display the fruit of the Spirit that manifests itself in these ways to the outside world.
I think the lesson here is not that we do these things to have God love us more (He already gave His Son on the cross and raised Him for us) but that it does show our love to God. God and the church are so connected that when we care for those of His family, it is something done for or to Him. I need to be reminded of this when I get an interruption in "my" schedule and God gives me someone to care for. I need to see it as "bigger" than what is in front of me. I have an opportunity to show God that I love Him back and those opportunities are all around me.
When you walk into church tomorrow, look around. God loves those people that you are looking at and when you love them in the most basic ways you are showing love to God and not just the individual in front of you. I know this lesson because it is in the Bible so I shouldn't ask the question "when" anymore but I should be asking of God daily the questions "who and where?"
Pastor Adam
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