'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;36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in
prison, and you came to Me.'37 "Then the righteous will answer
Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give
You something to drink?38 'And when did we see You a
stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?39 'When did
we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
... 40 "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say
to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of
Mine, eventhe least of them, you did it to Me.'
Those are powerful verses,
but they are also revealing verses. They look at what we are doing and
how we look at people. Not everyone is as compassionate or even maybe not
able to help others. Yet every one of us can do something.
Mother Teresa may be best
known for caring for the poor in our world, but there are people in your
community and mine that day in and out are helping those in the middle of pain
and struggle. We need to encourage those who are serving, and we also need
to do all we can to serve. Looking the other way or expecting someone
else to do it all is just not an option.
What are you doing to
serve those in need?
Here are some thoughts
from Mother Teresa:
- Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.
- Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being
wanted, for having someone to call their own.
- Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the
love of Jesus.
- The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove
than the hunger for bread.
- If you can't feed a hundred people, feed just one.
- May God break my heart so completely that the whole
world falls in.
Those are powerful quotes.
This one person made a huge difference in thousands of lives. She
started helping one person at a time. That really is all God expects of
us. Just start. Start today serving someone in need.
We meet people like this,
those who are in need every day. Some have big needs that food or shelter
or money can meet. Some have needs that only our love and the love of God
can meet. Start today serving someone in need.
We should help others do what is right and build
them up in the Lord.
NOTE: this was first shared in February of 2011.
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