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We serve Jesus by serving others

June 19, 2023
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Daily Scripture

Matthew 25:31-40

31 “Now when the Human One [or Son of Man] comes in his majesty and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his majestic throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them from each other, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right side. But the goats he will put on his left.
34 “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. 35 I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. 36 I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’
37 “Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’

Daily Reflection & Prayer

After outlining warnings about Jerusalem’s fall and the end of this age of the world in Matthew 24, Jesus gave a word picture of the final judgment. His story about the judgment clearly indicated his Kingdom’s priorities. Kingdom people, he said, care for the hungry and thirsty, the poorly-clothed and strangers, the prisoners and the sick—the people whom Jesus called “the least of these brothers and sisters of mine.”

  • People who don’t have enough to eat or wear, can’t afford medical care if they’re sick, are in prison, are different from you—most of us are willing to do a little something to help “them.” But Jesus called such people “these brothers and sisters of mine.” To truly buy into God’s world-changing work of service means seeing that the poor, the sick, the prisoners, the outcast are not “them”—they’re “us.” What has helped you grasp the truth of Jesus’ teaching?
  • In Jesus’ story, those he said had helped him were surprised: “When did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink?” They saw a need to meet, not someone who might reward them. What can help you learn to see the face of Jesus in the faces of the people you meet, especially those who are outcast or hurting? When have you found the freedom and joy that comes from blessing others because you know God cares about them?
Prayer

O God, keep my eyes and my heart open to see your face in the faces of hurting people around me who need your touch through me. Amen.

GPS Insights

Picture of Kaitlin Green

Kaitlin Green

Kaitlin Green is a sophomore at the University of Missouri studying Journalism with an emphasis in Writing and Reporting. At Mizzou, Kaitlin is a member of the Honors College and is on the Golden Girls dance team. This summer, she is working as a public relations intern at Resurrection and teaches dance at her old studio. In her free time, Kaitlin is an avid reader and loves spending time outdoors.

As anyone who has moved away from home can tell you, pressing the restart button on life can be unimaginably difficult. For myself, and many of my peers, our first experience with this drastic change was going away to college, and we all reacted to our first semester of freshman year differently. During this period, a fellow freshman friend of mine spoke constantly of dropping out. While many of our mutual friends kept their distance from her negativity, I tried to be as kind and as patient as possible because I could only imagine the battles she was fighting behind closed doors.

To my surprise, she returned from winter break of that year, much more enthusiastic about school and activities than she had ever been before. Unlike first semester, she was truly living her life.  It wasn’t until months later that I learned something shocking: my friend credits me with the reason she chose to stay in school. It’s a statement that still confounds me to this day because I feel I don’t deserve it—I did nothing other than treat her as I would hope to be treated.

When we read Scripture that tells us we serve Jesus by serving others, I think our minds tend to drift towards big gestures and acts of labor. And while this most definitely counts as service, our reach doesn’t stop there. We continuously serve others by being the light of Christ in their lives: by smiling, by listening, by caring. We serve others by bringing kindness and positivity into their lives. We serve others by exuding the joy that God has gifted us with. 

As I have witnessed, this creates not only a better space for the people we surround ourselves with but also a lasting impact in their hearts. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus here on Earth, and the simplest and most constant way of doing that is by treating others with the love that He would have. And while, often, we will never truly know the extent to which our kindness goes, we can trust that God is using our service to transform lives.

© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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