Matthew 25:34-40 NLT

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 creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

Christ followers’ lives will be marked by bravery and courage—the kind it takes to love the unlovable, see those invisible to others, and get messy in other people’s messes. Many times the best people to do that are those who have experienced brokenness themselves. Because you learn to operate out of empathy, not sympathy.

Does someone come to mind when you think about the words - sick, naked, thirsty, hungry, stranger? Who are ‘the least of these’ that God might be bringing to your attention, that you might deliberately reach out to?

Listen once more to only Jesus’ words about Himself from the Message Bible:

I was hungry and you fed me,

I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

I was homeless and you gave me a room,

I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’

Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

The biblical brand of courage will always be intertwined with loving and serving others, not for personal glory, but only for the sake of Christ.

Let’s pray: “Lord Jesus, thank You that You made it very clear what is important to You about our lives here. While we often pray and ask You for Your will in our lives, in verses like these, You already gave us the mission. Help us to simply be courageous and obey. As above, so below. Amen”

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