“‘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 as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.’”
There is a difference between doing something once and making a habit of it. When we receive a kind gesture from a neighbor we may think, That was nice. But over time, when we see that these kind gestures are regular occurrences, our mindset shifts from, That was a nice thing to do to That is a nice person. The ongoing patterns of behavior in our lives shape who we are.
In today’s passage, Jesus spoke about more than isolated occurrences of kindness; He referred to lives marked by service and sacrifice. It is easy to give a one-time gift or serve when it is convenient to our schedule, but following Jesus means a life of service and humility. As we are filled up by Him, we have the capacity to love and serve people like never before. We can love others with His love, and we can serve others through the strength He gives. This way of living may start out feeling completely unnatural, but as we continually trust Him and ask Him to guide us along the way, these isolated events build into a life that reflects our heavenly Father and brings glory to Him.
- What is something you have made a habit of that once felt unnatural to you?
- What kind of service comes naturally to you? What service feels difficult?
- Pray and ask God to equip you to care for the oppressed as a way of life.
