Matthew 25: 35-40 says, "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.’"
We should all be ashamed of ourselves.
We're all guilty of it, at one time or another. Someone comes to us with a need and what do we do? We don't take the time to consider whether or not we can help with the need. Instead, we assure our brother or sister (or friend, or even STRANGER) that we'll pray for them. Do we? I don't know. Sometimes I suppose we probably do. If we remember to. Other times...well, we mean well. But we forget.
Since when did the church stop being the church? And since when did prayer become the substitute for actually doing something to help people who truly need help?
As I write this post, I'm pretty fired up. I had the opportunity this past week to witness someone who truly needed help. She was lost and alone and abandoned by many of the people in her life she thought once loved her. Her mother approached her church to get help for her and the church turned her down.
I'm past being angry.
Now, don't get me wrong. Prayer is important. I'm not saying it's not. Prayer is essential in fact. Especially when you're dealing with the situation this girl is currently in, where her very soul is at stake. But this church had the opportunity to do more than pray. They had the opportunity to do more than provide a token gesture as way to appease her for a little while. This church had the opportunity to change her life. They had the opportunity to draw her to God; to allow her to climb up in the lap of her Daddy and realize that He really is taking care of her after all. Even in the midst of the mess.
They chose not to.
I would be embarrassed if that were my church. I'm so glad it's not. No...in fact, my church did just the opposite of this church. I posted a specific need for this girl in the groups that my church has on Facebook. Within minutes, the need was met. By the end of the day, the need was surpassed. And it was done by people who had never even laid eyes on this girl...in fact they don't even know her first name.
Consider Jesus. How many people do you think approached Him on a daily basis with needs? Although there are many mentioned in the Bible, my guess is that there were many more than that. How many times did Jesus tell them that He would pray for them and then walk away?
None.
Instead, He met their needs. He took them in His arms and He loved them. So, what I can't understand is...why do we think it's okay to simply pat people on the back and tell them that we'll pray for them without once thinking about meeting their needs?
It's NOT okay.
When this need was presented to me, I knew that I couldn't meet it. I didn't have the finances to meet it myself. But, I knew who COULD meet it. And I knew who WOULD meet it. It wasn't hard. And it only took a few minutes.
This is something that we as Christians need to change about ourselves. Jesus Himself said that when you don't take the time to help your brother or sister in need, you will be separated from Him in heaven. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be separated from Him. I want to give where I can. I want to help when I can help. I want to love people the way that Jesus loves people--without expecting anything in return.
I keep being led back to the song by Tait, "Talk About Jesus". It's an incredible song and I wanted to add it here. I think it really drives my point home. Take a minute and watch this video. And then take some steps to get out of your comfort zone and help someone around you who needs help. Just like Jesus did.
