… you were doing it to Me

 

Matthew 25:31-46 states:

The Final Judgment

³¹ “But when the Son of Man^[d] comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. ³² All the nations^[e] will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

³⁴ “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. ³⁵ 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. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

³⁷ “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? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

⁴⁰ “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,^[f] you were doing it to me!’

⁴¹ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.^{[g] 42} For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

⁴⁵ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

⁴⁶ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

The following was published in my church newsletter recently:

WHAT ARE WE TO DO WHEN TRANSIENTS APPEAR?

Occasionally, transients or others in need will stop by **Church seeking assistance. Often their need is real and legitimate. Our consistent response is to send them to **Community Center, which helps churches across the community with such requests. In limited circumstances, we may offer assistance directly from our office if we deem it appropriate.

However, what do we do when transients show up on Sunday [as they sometimes do]? Our policy is to ask the people to come back the next day and go to **Community Center. **Community Center is supported by **Church and is best-equipped to deal with such situations. But again, in limited cases with extreme circumstances, we may offer assistance as best we can.

It is important to remember the Biblical call to care for the poor and needy.However, we are also cautioned to be “wise as serpents and gentle as doves.” Sadly, many of those who appear at our doors on Sunday intentionally “target” churches on the Sabbath because they know church people are “vulnerable.” These individuals often move from church to church, and have well-rehearsed stories of a need that demands immediate attention [“I can’t wait until tomorrow…!”].

Here’s what we recommend you do if a transient person shows up on

Sunday:

• Direct them to one of the church staff

• If they are persistent, walk away immediately

• UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE CASH

Since Jesus tells us that whenever we “did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me,” I thought it would be interesting to substitute Jesus’ name for each reference to the people described in the newsletter. This is how that reads: 

WHAT ARE WE TO DO WHEN JESUS APPEARS?

Occasionally, Jesus will stop by **Church seeking assistance. Often His need is real and legitimate. Our consistent response is to send Jesus to **Community Center, which helps churches across the community with such requests. In limited circumstances, we may offer assistance directly from our office if we deem it appropriate.

However, what do we do when Jesus shows up on Sunday [as He sometimes does]? Our policy is to ask Him to come back the next day and go to **Community Center. **Community Center is supported by **Church and is best-equipped to deal with such situations. But again, in limited cases with extreme circumstances, we may offer assistance as best we can.

It is important to remember the Biblical call to care for Jesus. However, we are also cautioned to be “wise as serpents and gentle as doves.” Sadly, Jesus may appear at our doors on Sunday and intentionally “target” churches on the Sabbath because He knows church people are “vulnerable.” Jesus often moves from church to church with  well-rehearsed stories of a need that demands immediate attention [“I can’t wait until tomorrow…!”].

Here’s what we recommend you do if Jesus shows up on Sunday:

• Direct Jesus to one of the church staff

• If Jesus is persistent, walk away immediately

• UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE CASH

I know the Jesus I’m madly in love with does not want me to be like that.

I so want to live out His Words.

Father, I pray for the knowledge of your will for me and the willingness and power to carry it out.