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…
Matthew 25:35
Jesus identified three human needs His followers can help meet:
- Hunger
- Thirst
- Loneliness
Two are physical needs, one is relational.
As the passage continued, Jesus taught His followers that as they release themselves and their resources to others, they serve Him. He affirmed them for doing it.
Their response is confusion. “When did we do this, Jesus?”
It’s easy to imagine their brows furrowed, looking at each other in confusion, asking, “Was it you?”
And a possible answer, “Not me! I would have remembered feeding Jesus! I do remember the time He feed all of us, though. And with only a couple of fish and those five loaves that kid brought. Now that was cool!”
They loved on and shared with others without guile and without looking for praise. The Spirit prompted, they saw a need, and met it. They didn’t have to post a thinly veiled self-pat-on-the-back on Facebook or share about “how God used me!” in small group.
Maybe they just felt the nudge of the Spirit and simply obeyed.
Perhaps when you know what it’s like to be hungry, thirsty, and lonely, you are more inclined to reach out and help someone who is hungry, thirsty, or lonely.
They did it without realizing it.
The first-century crowd heard the audible words of Jesus.
Because we have the written words of Jesus, we have this heads up—it is a call to action, a call to obedience:
This teaching – this call – is not only for the disciples then. It is for us now.
He answered their confusion in verse 40: “…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Who is the person in your life and mine that falls into the “least of these” column? Who are the thirsty, hungry, and lonely people in our world? Are we willing to serve Jesus by serving one of these?
In honor of back-t0-school season, we’ve chosen LEARN as our Write the WORD theme for August. Please listen as Laura introduces this month’s focus and unpacks some thoughts inspired by Psalm 119:7.
