“I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.” (Mt 25:35-36)
Throughout the years, I have heard from several people what they thought it would be like when they stood face to face with Jesus after their life here on earth. A couple of their ideas have given me food for thought.
“When we die and come face to face with the Lord, He is going to ask us, ‘Who did you bring with you to my Kingdom?'” This thought reminds us that we have been challenged by God to extend a personal invitation to all we meet to come to know the Lord.
If we fail to extend that invitation to anyone and that person never comes to know the Lord, it will be held against us. If we bring others to the Lord, it will be credited to us.
None of us wants to think that the Lord would be displeased with us when we first meet Him.
“What did you do for me?” This very basic question is one with which we are quite familiar. From our very early years, we look at situations and ask ourselves, “What’s in it for me?” If we do not see any benefit to ourselves, we often do not engage in those situations.
It is alarming to think that Jesus is going to ask that very basic question of each and every one of us. “What did you do for me?”
That question begs the fact that we recognized the Lord while here on earth and responded to His needs.
“What did you do for me?”
There is much that we can do for the Lord if we remember that the Lord dwells in all of His people. That is the very message of the parable of the sheep and goats. When the sheep did anything for any person, they did it for the Lord. When the goats refused to do anything for any person, they refused to aid and comfort the Lord.
Look around you. God dwells in all the people you see.
Look in a mirror. God dwells in you.
How are you going to care — by word and by deed — for God this day?
FAITH ACTION: Attempt to do good for someone today. Even more so, refrain from doing ill to anyone today. Remember, you help, or hurt, the Lord.