Friends, this is so hard. I see so many of you struggling with how to respond to the terrors of this earth. I am right there. I am watching my kids and our wonderful life and not wanting anything to interfere with it.
And, I so believe that our God sees it all. He is not surprised or caught off guard by the destruction of this world. It's why He has plans for a new earth!
But, I believe He is pulling for us, for His people TODAY--to be the difference makers, to be willing to step in and fight for the least of these when no one else will. I do not want to. I want to stay safe. But, God has so clearly given us the mission of giving up the things of this world so that others may know the hope we have in Jesus--and, how I can give them hope and love them well when all I see is a threat. I do this every day. I don't talk to my neighbor because it will threaten my comfort zone. I don't help the widow at the store because it will threaten my schedule. I don't help some because I am afraid and my security is threatened. Let's face it, I don't help because helping is messy.
But, guys, I keep reading--mostly in the gospels. And, all I see is a command to jump into the mess. Take a risk on behalf of the gospel.
Matthew 25:31-46 (ESV):
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
So, yes, I think God has given us wisdom and knowledge, and we should use those for His glory. But, I think He was very clear on how to follow and love Him: love the unlovable. We should be rearranging our lives every day for those without. As an American citizen, I live within borders. But, as a daughter of a King who died for me, there are no borders. I get to choose love for my neighbor, for those on my street and in my school who look and believe and live differently and even opposed to our God. And, I get to choose love for those trapped in slavery around the world. And, I get to choose love for the refugee who is starting over with nothing. What else is there really to live for?
I know government has a different function than individual. I understand the reason for borders. I understand why systems are in place. And, I think we should use those systems. We should use those systems when we determine our role as a nation in retaliation and alignment. And, we should use those systems as we determine how to bring people who need a home into our country.
But, we have the chance, in our generation, to set a standard for all of time as to what compassion looks like. We have the opportunity to say yes to people when saying no is easier and safer. We have the opportunity to see someone in need and meet the need. As Christ followers, we have the opportunity to be obedient to something I'd rather just ignore, but that is clearly evident throughout the teaching of Jesus.
For some of us, we need to start with our neighbor. We need to start right in our community. We need to find the ones who don't know our Jesus. We need to find those who are hurting and feel betrayed by the world. And, we need to show them Jesus. It is going to take us seeing Jesus when we see them. It is going to take us submitting to His Spirit who lives inside of us. It will be dangerous. It will change my world. It will cause me at times to question whether or not this Jesus following thing is for me. But, if in the end, I decide I'm in--if WE decide we are in--we can change the world.
So, find a quiet spot today. Sit with Jesus for a few moments. Read His words. And, see what messy place He leads you to jump into. I am praying for you today, for us all to begin loving like He does, to see people like He sees them, and to feed them, and clothe them, and care for them as if it is Jesus standing before us. The adventure of saying yes to Him awaits all of us.
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