Matthew 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 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. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“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. 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, 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.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“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.’
“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. 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, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“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?’
“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.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
During my years as a Youth Pastor I led a number of short term mission trips to the Dominican Republic. Most of them involved serving with a ministry that provided food and basic medical care for children from impoverished communities. About half our time was spent doing physical labor as the buildings were being constructed, and about half was just spending time with the children who lived in the local area.
One of the things I noticed early on was that one of the first things the kids would ask us upon our arrival was, “Cuando se van?” The English translation is, “When are you going?” or, “When will you have to leave?”
I wasn’t fluent in Spanish by any means, but I understood enough to figure out what they were asking and it seemed strange to me that almost as soon as we set foot in their village they asked us when we had to leave. It took me a little longer to figure out why they always asked that question first. I eventually came to understand that it was because what was most important to the children was not the building we were helping to build, or the funds we provided for the ministry, but rather, it was simply our presence in their community.
The children asked, “Cuando se van?” as soon as we arrived because they wanted to know how much time they would have to get to know us, to have fun with our group, and to love us as their friends. The most important thing to them was not our financial or material help, but rather our love and friendship.
I think we can see the importance of caring through relationships if we look closely at Jesus’ words in this parable.
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, 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.
Notice that Jesus refers to both the sharing of material goods like food, drink and clothing; as well as to the sharing of time, attention and personal care. Jesus is teaching us to be willing to share not just our material or financial resources, but to share our time, our love, our friendship and our hearts as well.
This is why we, as a church, make a priority of supporting “Serve the World” partners and choosing short term mission partners where we can establish long term relationships. We want to be serving and giving in ways that do not create dependence on North American resources, but rather a deep sense of blessing and hope that comes with sharing in God’s Kingdom purposes for the people and communities in which we serve.
I believe that Jesus wants us to reach the world by serving the world; and we are moved to serve the world when we see the world, and see people, as he sees them.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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