Jesus spoke often about caring for the poor and downtrodden. But I, and maybe you, find it easy to forget that there are people who are worse off than me, that need help in ways I can't imagine. Even when money has been short, I've at least had a home and a peanut butter sandwich. I've never run out of gas without the ability to put more in the tank once I walk or catch a ride to the gas station.
But Jesus wants us to care for the poor. He treats it as something pretty significant.
This is a long passage here, but I hope you'll read it over before you continue.
"But
when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He
will sit on His glorious throne. All the
nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one
another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the
sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
Then
the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My "Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to
eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and
you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I
was in prison, and you came to Me.' Then
the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You,
or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and
clothe You? When did we see You sick, or
in prison, and come to You? 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.'
"Then
He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal
fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry,
and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to
drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not
clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' Then they themselves
will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or
naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to
you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did
not do it to Me.' These will go away
into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Matthew
25:31-46 (NASB)
I
won't get into an argument about faith versus works here. I do believe that our salvation comes by our
faith in Jesus, not by the acts that we accomplish, but if we are going to take
the words of Jesus seriously, we need to decide how we are going to respond to
this passage. It is apparent that this
is something Jesus sees as paramount, so we need to come to a decision about
what we should be doing to help.
So please tell me what you think we as Christians should be doing to care for the poor. To what degree are we responsible? How much of our resources should we be giving? How much time should we be devoting? I want to hear what you think about the church caring for the poor.
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As I seek Jesus He places 'burdens' on my heart, which I work to answer, to not do so would be disobedient. I believe each of us have different gifts and talents to share. Helping those in need is an important part. There are tons of needs, and not one of us can do it all, As we each do our small part, and pull together we can do a world of good. I love your heart for those in need. Listen and Keep you eyes on Him and He will direct your paths. Hugs and Blessings.
ReplyDeleteSusie, I think that is the biggest part, listening to His direction. If we're all following His lead, everything that needs covered will be. Thank you coming by!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome Kirra. Thank you for this post and reminder.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think we should be the hands and feet of Jesus to feed the poor and clothe the naked. It's the least we can do to help those who can't always help themselves, and to show the love of Christ.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I think you're on target here. An awareness that some people do need help and a willingness to do so when the opportunity presents itself.
ReplyDeleteLisa, what do you think are the most effective ways to do this?
ReplyDeleteI'm still trying to figure it out, Kirra. One thing that I do is volunteer at a local food/clothing distribution center each week that gives donated food and clothing away for free three days a week to anyone who needs it, no questions asked. I used to think: what good is that if it doesn't change things for them in the long-term?---but now I don't question that; I can at least help feed and clothe the poor in the now and trust that others more qualified are working on the long-term solutions.
ReplyDeleteI love that you're asking these questions!
Many of the things Jesus did were long term, such as healings, but many things were short term, such as feeding the 5000. They came back and asked for more the next day, and He refused. And there are sources of long-term help, like career training or job placement for those without work. Some homeless shelters have programs that help people find work and places to live. The short-term help and the long-term help work together to hopefully bring them to a better place.
ReplyDeleteKirra, the Lord has been dealing with me in this area -- particularly after reading Psalm 82 where He says we must care for the defenseless. I think if we see a need, we should be compelled to help.
ReplyDeleteLyli, I think that is probably the hardest part - taking notice and being willing to help. Thank you for coming by!
ReplyDelete