"31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35 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,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
When we come to faith in Jesus Christ we want to serve Him and live our lives for Him. We shift our focus off of ourselves and focus on Jesus at least that is what we try to do. Sometimes I must confess that is a hard if not impossible thing to do on my own in my own strength and power. I am weak and easily tempted and lead astray into selfishness. Thank the Lord that He gives us the Holy Spirit to dwell in every believer in Christ to help us along life's journey.
When we are serving the Lord with our focus on Him we may not even realize the impact of the things that we do when we are serving others around us. We may not realize what that cup of water we give to a thirsty stranger may have and how the Lord can use that little thing to make a difference in that persons life. When we give money to a Missions project to help people struggling in a far away land that we may never travel too we are making a difference if we are doing it for Jesus Christ and our love for Him. Sometimes I think we all wonder if we are truly making a difference in our world. If we have put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and we have that desire to serve Him then yes we will make a difference, but it won't be us getting the credit for it because all the glory will go to the Lord where it belongs.
The Lord will use the small steps of obedience to teach us to trust Him more and He will also teach us how to be humble and serve others. He gives us opportunities everyday to show His love to others. There are a lot of "the least of these" out there that need to know that love of Christ. Sometimes my faith seems smaller than a mustard seed and I feel like I am not accomplishing very much for the Lord. It is in moments like those that the Lord brings someone into our lives that we can help. It is up to us whether we help them or not, but if we are trusting the Lord and we love Him then we will do what the Lord would have us to do.
I got thinking about the passage of Scripture that I stated above at work the other day. I was working in the grocery store filling the banana display when an older woman was coming towards me pushing a grocery cart. She looked at me and said, "Michael, can you tie my shoe for me please?" I said, "Yes of course." and I got down on my knees and tied her shoe in the middle of the store because she wasn't able to. I really didn't think about it. I just did it. I am not trying to get any praise or anything by telling about what I did, but it got me thinking about why we do things for people. What is our motive? Is it to gain some honor for ourselves? I would hope not. I would hope the reason that we believers in Jesus Christ do things for others is because of the great love we have for the Lord Jesus and for others.
We need to allow the Lord to love others through us by submitting to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We must serve the Lord Jesus and only then will we truly be able to love and serve others. It won't be for our glory or praise. All the Glory, Honor, and Praise must go to the One who saved us and bought us with His precious blood. The Glory must go to Jesus.
May the love of the Lord Jesus Christ overflow from our hearts and into the lives of those around us. Let us love Jesus and serve Him while serving others.
How can you show the love of the Lord Jesus to someone today?
Lord,
Thank You for opportunities to share Your love with others through small acts.
Thank You for Your love and Your mercy that is new every morning.
Help us to love You more and more.
Help us to love others as You love us.
Teach us and lead us by Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus name,
Amen.
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