Feed My Sheep

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.

Jesus states this in Matthew 25 while talking to his disciples to explain transition into heaven. They quickly respond by saying, Jesus you were none of these things and we never followed these instructions. He follows this up with explaining to them that it is rather when we do these things for our brothers and sisters that he is praised graciously.

These verses struck me in a different way then they had before. I used to think that these commands applied solely to those that are poor and outside the church. Today, rather, God compelled me to look deeper. In the verses in the Bible he uses the word, brother, which cross referenced actually appears to mean those that believe in Jesus. Therefore, my deduction from these commands can only apply to the church.

I admit I am guilty of not turning to those in my church with love and compassion as this passage states. Rather, I like the people I like, and try not to be annoyed by the people that drive me crazy. Yet, in this passage, Jesus is telling me that in order to truly love him, I must be willing to show love in the above listed ways to all people in my church.

Each of us struggle with certain "types" of people in our churches and in our lives. For me, I struggle with people that are always telling me bad news and missing out on the good news. I struggle with people that want to always tell me how greatly accomplished they are in work, sports, life, etc. And, I definitely struggle with people that put down others and talk without regard for their emotions. Yet, what I learned from reading this passage is that Jesus can see past these annoyances and can see the real needs of people.

We often feel compelled to love the homeless man on the street with a pot of food or a new sweater. But, we look past the people that know Jesus that are struggling day to day with the weight of being his. We must not forget each other. We must not get annoyed with the worldy things that inhabit even the Christians in Jesus' church. This passage helps us to remember to feed the hungry and the poor in our churches to welcome the stranger and to love the forgotten.

This was quite a challenge for me today. But, I am so thankful that Jesus cares enough to break my heart with the root of my sin. We cannot go on creating churches that forget about the needs of those within the church. So, thank you Jesus that you care about the people that annoy me. Thank you Jesus that you see them as pure and righteous. I pray that my eyes would be opened truly so that I may see you in them and provide what they need through your Holy Spirit.