A
young boy was walking through the park. He had just gotten out of his Sunday
school class, where his teacher had told the class that you never can tell when
you’ll meet Jesus.
As
he was walking through the park, he noticed an old woman sitting on a bench.
She looked very lonely, so he sat down next to her. He said "Hi" and
then offered her a piece of his candy bar, which he had been saving.
She
accepted the piece of chocolate with a smile. They talked for a while about
nothing in particular and then the boy offered her another piece, which she
also gladly accepted.
They
talked a little while longer and then the boy got up to leave.
As
he began to walk away, he turned around, ran back to the bench and gave the
woman a big hug. And, she gave him her very biggest smile.
When
he arrived home, his mother saw a big smile on his face and asked, "What
made you so happy today"?
The
boy said, "I shared my chocolate bar with Jesus. And, guess what, Mom? She
has a great smile".
Meanwhile,
the old woman returned to her little apartment which she shared with her
sister. The sister said "You’re all smiles today, what made
you so happy"?
She said, "Well", "I was sitting in the park
sharing a chocolate bar with Jesus. And, you know what? He looks a lot younger
than I expected"!
Matthew 25:40 reminds us that Christ WILL separate those of
us who help the afflicted and those of us who turn the other cheek. Christ WILL separate those of us who feed the
hungry, through whatever means, and those who have an ideal that everyone has
the ability to feed themselves. Christ
WILL separate those of us who do whatever we can to give clothing to the one
without, and those of us who believe they should just get a job and do it
themselves.
If you won’t do anything, then at least be satisfied with
the idea that some of your tax dollars are feeding those who are unable to
acquire the resources to feed themselves and their children for today.
Christ isn’t arguing about food stamps, welfare, and charity. What a hot button topic today! All I want to tell you is this: what are WE doing to feed the hungry today? When
was the last time WE gave to someone who went without? You know that box in the hallway of the
church that WE stick a few clothes in to every November? How would WE like it if WE weren’t allowed to
buy anything new except once a year? That
annual donation WE make to our local charity – how far do we think that is
going and more importantly could WE survive off of that amount for a year? What makes US so extra special and important
in the kingdom of God that we now decide who gets charity and who doesn't? Oh sure – there ARE people taking advantage
of the situation but that’s not for our concern. Our concern is to see someone who needs
something and to respond in love.
For EVERY time we do something to those who are less
fortunate, the ‘least of these’ that Christ talks about; we do it as if that person
were Christ. Likewise, EVERY time we
deny someone the basics of human life and dignity; food, water, clothing,
shelter, health…we are denying Christ the same.
At a red light today I waited for what felt like 20 minutes
go by. During that time I watched a man
on the road – holding a sign that simply said, “Hungry. Need help. God bless”.
Did I give him something to eat? Nope.
Now if I did something for everyone standing on the corner I would be
empty – but isn’t that the idea? Isn’t
the idea to throw away our nets and follow Christ?
"But where do you draw the line, pastor?"...there IS NO LINE.
"I can't help them all"....but have you even started?
"They just abuse the system"...lucky we have you to weed out the users and abusers.
"I have my family to feed"...So does Christ...through YOU.
"I give at Christmas, isn't that enough?"...Did you REALLY just ask that question?
I’m not there yet.
But I will pray for every single one I see – and I will pray that the
Holy Spirit will disturb the calm waters of my heart a little bit more
often and grant me the courage and strength to do something for ‘the least of
these’.
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