Yesterday, we looked at how to love and care for our brothers and sisters in the church. What about caring for our community outside of the church? How do we do that?
Some people, like me, are called to move to a foreign country and care for the people there. Many people are called to care for those in their home country, those in their own towns and cities, those who are neighbours and acquaintances.
Scripture is descriptive and straightforward with instruction of how to care for those around us. It is illustrated well in Matthew 25:31-46 (NLT),
“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.[g]42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
How are we to care for our communities? Give generously. Give food to the hungry, clothe the naked, be hospitable, visit the sick and those imprisoned. Scripture also talks about caring for the widows and orphans, the injured and the homeless.
Sometimes, when we look at the many needs of those around us, it can be overwhelming and so we do nothing at all. We may think we don’t have enough money or time or resources to help all those who are suffering. We become discouraged and think there is nothing we can do. But that is not true.
We can donate clothes that we no longer wear. We can buy a few extra canned goods at the grocery store to take to the food bank. We can give a sandwich to a homeless person begging on the street. We can volunteer at an after-school program for at-risk kids. We can help sort food or clothing at donation centres. We can serve a meal at a soup kitchen. We can drop off a meal at a local shelter. We can buy an extra toy or two at Christmas so a child living in poverty can have Christmas gifts too. We can sponsor a child overseas.
The possibilities of what we can do to love and care for our communities are endless. And we have no idea how God may use our generosity. Perhaps someone we help today will go and help two other people tomorrow. Then those two other people will help four more people the next day. And so on.
Our gifts are never wasted. Our generosity is never wasted. Our effort is never wasted. We may feel that we can do very little, but God can do so much! God can multiply each act of compassion, each act of service, each act of love.
So, I encourage you to do whatever you can to love your community. It can be as simple as offering a smile to someone who is having a bad day. Or instead of going out for lunch again, pack a lunch from home and give the money you would have spent to a food bank. Every little bit matters. Every little bit helps.
Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!
Hebrews 13:2 (NLT)
And the song for today is Love God Love People by Danny Gokey