3 minute read
DAY TEN: Feeding Jesus
‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 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 . . . Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’—Matthew 25:31-40
It’s a perspective thing. We all desperately want our children and grandchildren to spend their youth wisely, to understand that it’s a finite commodity. ‘Please invest well’—we want to scream from our lofty tower of adulthood and hard-won experience of life. If we can just help them see how important today is in light of tomorrow, they will have a good life.
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In Matthew 25, Jesus is taking a similar approach with us, his much-loved sheep. But he’s not thinking about someday but The Day. He wants us to reconsider how we are investing our time, money, emotions, and our very selves, to grasp his perspective before it’s too late.
And, on-brand for Jesus, it’s a revolutionary upside-down perspective.
The good life doesn’t come from investing in ourselves, but from loving and serving others, especially the ‘least of these’. We’re never going to be living in the fullness of life that God intends if we’re chasing our own wealth and happiness. We’re not made for that.
What are we made for? Well, worship. This passage encourages us to remember that we follow the one who sits on the throne in glory. He will sort the sheep from the goats, he will rule with justice and bestow blessing, and it is only through his death and resurrection that any of us can receive an inheritance into his eternal kingdom.
And this very same risen king, from his heavenly throne, calls us to worship him in the dusty, streets of our world. His heart is for the most vulnerable, the least powerful, the most urgently in need of our attention.
It is no small task with 828 million hungry people, 771 million without clean water, 89 million displaced people, and countless others living with significant unmet needs. Jesus calls us to serve each of them with the dignity and love we would show him; when you feed them, you feed him.
At Baptist World Aid Australia, we have the privilege of partnering with people who live this perspective of the good life. The faithfulness of our supporters and their motivation to love the vulnerable as they love Jesus frequently moves us. We see lives changed as resources are channelled through God’s people to those who need it. We are thankful and praise God for each one of them.
God doesn’t want us to simply have a good life. He wants us to have a life full of purpose and joy. One where we love and serve him, and give ourselves willingly as a means of his goodness to others, especially ‘the least of these’. When we feed the hungry, we feed Jesus and he feeds our hearts.
Dig Deeper:
1 What aspects of Jesus’s character are most evident in this passage? How is he described?
2 Why do you think God calls us to be part of his work in caring for ‘the least of these’?
3 What areas of your life need a perspective recalibration to align with Jesus’ view of the needs of others, especially those who face hunger?
Prayer:
We praise you, King and Creator, for our lives and the way you have created us to serve and love one another. Please help us to see vulnerable people through your eyes and to give them the honour and respect we would show you, receiving satisfaction, purpose and joy in serving you, rather than ourselves. Amen.
