Christian conduct
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
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, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Matthew 25:34-46.
As Christians we need to strive to do good deeds all of our life. That is one of the hallmarks of being a Christian. James the half brother of Jesus wrote,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?”
James 2:14-20.
One of the best ways to reach the needy is to help them. Is to meet them where they are at. A person who is sick or hungry will not listen to the message of salvation very easily. But meet his needs in the name of Jesus and he will listen.
My son a carpenter, shortly after hurricane Katrina went with a group from his church at their own expense to help build houses damaged in the storm.
Each year he goes to different parts of the world to help with schools, orphanages or other projects. He and those who go with him use their skills to help others without expectation of reward.
When he returns you can see the satisfaction in his face. He has told me many times how rewarding those trips are.
Now I know there are many out there who can’t afford to put their job on hold for a month to go to other countries and help others. But you can help those around you.
My late sister in law was church mouse poor most of her life. Yet it never stopped her from helping. She’d volunteer at a soup kitchen or other places where she could help the poor of her community.
There are many today like her who quietly without fanfare reach out to the needy in the name of Jesus expecting no reward. They prove that anyone can work for God.
Are you working for God?
Tony Campolo the American evangelist wrote,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.”
Tony Campolo
I agree with him.
I would ask you to please think about it.
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