Good morning…
This week I had the privilege of meeting with both the founder and the current director of Grove Park Renewal, a non-profit which supports the need for affordable housing in downtown Atlanta. After an energizing conversation about important possibilities, one of the men handed out copies of a blog post he had read that morning. Now I prayerfully ponder the impact of this challenging vision.
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What a “Last Day” Image by Scotty Smith, June 26, 2022
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me…” “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you?” And the King will say…”When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matt 25:34-40, NLT).
Lord Jesus, there is something profoundly beautiful, encouraging, and convicting about this Last Day image. It doesn’t look like a World Cup Championship celebration, or a confetti-in-the-air political rally, or even the biggest, loudest hymn sing ever.
As you describe the scene, inheritors (not “earners”) of your Kingdom will be astonished, humbled, and grateful. Shocked, that the sacrificial love for neighbors, strangers, foreigners – even enemies, was actually experienced by you. We know we’re saved by grace alone with faith alone; but faith and grace are never alone. They always find ways to love you by loving others.
Indeed, you taught us to “love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward (not wage) will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Luke 6:35). Help us Jesus… especially in these coming days and hours. Knowing you has nothing to do with winning and gloating, but everything to do with loving and serving.
Hands lifted to you in corporate worship are one thing; hands extended to you in the faces of widows and orphans, the vulnerable and ungrateful, the hungry and the angry are quite another. May the “least of these” get the best of us… and our love for you. So Very Amen.
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The tumult of these times is creating many widows and orphans. An overwhelming amount of people wake up vulnerable today. Ungrateful. Hungry. Angry. Pain is all around. Do we actually see those in need? As we see the aching hunger and we feed a pressing need, the “least of these” get the best of us. We are actually loving Jesus as we share God’s love with others.
Lord, how might my sacrificial love for neighbors, strangers, foreigners – even enemies, actually be experienced by you today?
…Sue…
