Today if Jesus were to come to your doorstep asking for food, would you send Him away?
If Jesus was on the street with no clothes to cover Him, would you pretend you didn’t see Him?
Would you visit Him in prison?
Would you ignore Him if He was blind, deaf, or physically challenged?
If He was an orphan with no one to care for Him, what would you do?
If Jesus was suffering the plight of a destitute man, an aged person, a terminally ill person or stranger with no help, would you shrug your shoulders and go away?
Do You Care?
These questions are for every Christian individual, family, and church. How many believers can say that they know a deaf person or have befriended a blind or physically challenged person? How many believers visit the orphanage nearby and share the love of God with the children there?
Jesus cared for each of these people. He cared about the plight of the children and families of prisoners who have no help. Jesus cares about the children whose HIV-positive parents died, leaving them on the streets. Jesus never ignored such people. Yet we find that this is what some Christians and churches do with disadvantaged groups of people.
Jesus Cares For Disadvantaged Persons
In Matthew 25:42, 43 Jesus says, “I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me and entertain Me, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me with help and ministering care.”
Many people from disadvantaged sections of society have not yet witnessed any interaction from believers or churches. If we need the word of God every Sunday, don’t they need to know the Word through actions that express God’s love to them? Sending money to the missions once a year is nothing more than lip-service. Can you imagine the plight of people who suffer unbearable pain and have no one to comfort them? Could they believe that God loves them when not a single believer is showing His love to them?
A Just And Caring God
Psalm 146: 7-9 speaks of the Lord as One, “Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets free the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous [the upright in heart]. The Lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow.“
Isaiah 61:1 says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified Me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up and heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound.”
The Consequences Of Not Caring
Matthew 25:45, 46 tells us, “He will reply to them, Solemnly I declare to you, in so far as you failed to do it for the least [in the estimation of men] of these, you failed to do it for Me. Then they will go away into eternal punishment, but those who are just and upright and in right standing with God into eternal life.” Please note, believers who fail to do these things receive eternal punishment.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to give good tidings of the Gospel to disadvantaged people. These verses show us God’s heart towards them. We need to examine our role as followers and disciples of Christ. In times of recession and economic slowdown, have you wondered how missionaries and NGOs take care of disadvantaged people?
Called To Share Jesus’ Love
Imagine if believers showed love to the disabled. Imagine if they showed love to children whose parents died of HIV. They would grow into healthy members of society. Imagine if believers loved the children of prisoners, who struggle to make ends meet. This is not for those in ministry only. He has asked all of us to do this so we can fulfill the commission He gave us in Matthew 28:19, 20.
This is not a one-time activity. It is meant be a way of life for us Christians. The ‘least in society‘ are ‘the most important people for Jesus.’ Let us think of ways in which we can be a blessing to them so that when we stand before the Lord after our time on earth we can hear Him say,“Truly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least [in the estimation of men] of these My brethren, you did it for Me. Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God and appointed to eternal salvation], inherit [receive as your own] the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34, 40)
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