Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Service With Love" for Tuesday, 29 July 2014 - Read Matthew 25: The Sheep and the Goats31-33 “When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.
34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
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.’
37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’
41-43 “Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’
44 “Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’
45 “He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’
46 “Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”
The king will say, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”(Matthew 25:35 (NRSV))
Lately, our church has been preparing hot meals for people who are hungry or homeless. But this is not the first time we have had a ministry to poor people. In the past, when we did not have our own building, the young people collected bags of food and distributed them. We went around the neighboring areas and sought out those who needed food. Now we have our own building where we can invite people in and feed them with hot soup, sandwiches, and tea. On the first night, only one man came. Part of me was disappointed; we had prepared a meal for 20 people. However, I noticed a difference between the church and a business project: numbers are not as important as the quality of the achieved result. But what is the point in having large numbers of guests if I didn’t even know how to talk to our one guest or conduct myself around him? I know that Jesus would have done things differently. Jesus calls us to feed those who are hungry and welcome strangers as if we are welcoming him. Jesus would have found the right words that night. I know that with a tiny bit of faith and courage we can follow Jesus’ example.
The Author: Anton Kuzmin (Saint Petersburg, Russia)
Thought for the Day: When we welcome others we are welcoming God.
Prayer: Dear God of compassion, help us offer hospitality to our neighbor without fear or hesitation. Amen.
Prayer focus: Those who are homeless
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