You may have already heard or read the story of that woman with whom the Lord had an appointment. She cleaned her House from top to bottom, prepared the most delicious meal, sprayed some perfume, put on her best dress and sat down to wait. At some point, she got up to chase off the kids who were playing in her yard, because they were too noisy and might have broken her window panes. Then, a beggar rang at midday: he was hungry and cold and wanted to come in to warm up a little. She sent him away; she didn’t want him dirtying her carpet and leaving bad odours. Furthermore, she was not going to serve him food before her distinguished guest had eaten, wasn't she?. The day and the evening went by without any other disruption, but Jesus had not come. She was deeply disappointed and told Him so as soon as she got the opportunity. ‘‘I came twice, but you did not let Me in.’’ was the reply…
“For I hungered, and you did not give Me a thing to eat. I thirsted and you did not give Me a thing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not take Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me. Then they also will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungering, or thirsting, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You? Then He will answer them, saying, Truly I say to you, In so far as you did not do it to one of these, the least, neither did you do it to Me.” (Matthew 25:42-45, ISV)
I was saying in a previous posting – ‘‘Conditions for a financial harvest’’- the Church is intended to be the arms, the feet, the heart and the mouth of the Lord. As He is, so also we are, says the Bible (1John 4:17) : so also we are… called to be.
He came so that those who hungered and thirsted for justice, be satiated (Matthew 5:6). It is now our task. A quick look around would be enough to notice that at work, in hospitals, schools and universities, people suffer all kinds of injustice. The plague even affects churchmen as well as Christian policemen and judges. The temple of Equity, the Palace of Justice, is often the place of the worst injustice. And unfortunately, the Church is often too silent on the matter, or an accomplice. Some of us are only Christian on sundays. We all have something to do and we all can do something, everyone in their own way, starting at least with denunciation.
Jesus came for the sick and brokenhearted (Mark 2:17, Luke 4:18). He expects us to continue healing them and telling them that the Kingdom of God has come near to them (Luke 10:9). We are surrounded by sick people and I am not just speaking of physical, but of psychological, emotional and spiritual diseases. Yet we go by every day, without seeing them. As long as they don’t want to come to our churches, we simply ignore them. And when they do come, they are usually so neglected that they go from one church to the other, in search of the one that will be compassionate enough.
He came to set the captives free and proclaim liberty to the oppressed. Fewer and fewer churches have good deliverance ministries. 21st century Christians are afraid of demons! And yet, it is much easier to cast an evil spirit out than to sit somebody in the Doctrine. They are afraid of the repercussions in their (often tumultuous) lives, afraid because they are still in bondage themselves, afraid that their prayer might not work (and the devil will be stronger than Jesus)... In short, and whatever the reasons, the bottom line is, the work that the Lord had initiated in this field is not done.
He came so that those who were foreigners, strangers and alien, could become people of the House of God and citizens of his Kingdom (Ephesians 2:19). As for us, we either have a certain disdain for 'pagans' or - as I've heard it a few times - we consider that they are not in need of salvation and are doing very well as they are or, we drive away from the House of God, all those who do not believe exactly like us and who do not attend our churches! God help us.
There is a lot more here than just a compassion problem. The real issue is that we have totally lost sense of the value of what we have in Christ. It’s like a lady that has been offered a magnificent diamond watch. At the beginning, she is even afraid to wear it and spends hours admiring it in its case. Then, with time, it slowly becomes a jewel like any other and the initial amazement gradually fades away. Or, if she has kept it in a safe, most of the time, the diamond is just forgotten in there. Yet, its value is still the same or has even increased. If we had not ceased to realized the worth and the magnitude of what Christ Jesus has accomplished in our lives, we would be more sensitive to the physical and spiritual famished, thirsty, sick, prisoners and strangers around us.
Jesus foretold that in the last days, the agape, the love of many would cool down. He meant that burning desire to wish the best for others and to do one’s all to achieve it. And of course, He was right. Maybe it’s time to reflect on the following words by Charles Spurgeon : ‘‘Have you no wish for others to be saved? then you’re not saved yourself, be sure of that!”
Enjoy your week-end!
No comments:
Post a Comment