I am a man, in the middle of life. What that means to me, you and us is what I hope to frame in my attempts at this.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

serve

I am Jesus, and so are you.

Before you string me up, or assume me to be a heretical writer here, listen to what I mean. In the NT, we are given to views of how people on Earth can be Jesus to those around them:

"Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'
"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'
"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.' (Matthew 25:41-45 Message)


And

“Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.” (2 Cor. 5:16-20 Message)


SERGELEN, MONGOLIA-MARCH 14 : Dealing with another snowstorm a herder walks his flock of sheep and goats on March 14, 2010 in Sergelen, Tuv province in Mongolia. Many herder nomadic families moved due to the severe cold and snow. Mongolia is still experiencing one of the worst winters in 30 years, with 68% of provinces affected. The government has declared an emergency requiring foreign aid to alleviate the impact of the ' Zud' (a multiple natural disaster) caused by bitter cold and thick snow. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimate 2.7 million head of livestock have perished already, but believe that figure will double by the end of June. The UNDP is working with other UN agencies to provide a 'cash-for-work' programme in which herders will receive income to bury the carcasses of livestock in an effort to prevent spread of disease and pollution once the snow begins to melt. The UN has recently allocated USD $3.7 million for humanitarian assistance to Mongolia from its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).  (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

We are Jesus when we serve and represent what Christ it to people here on earth and Jesus is in those same people that we serve and help (or are supposed to be serving and helping). We get the notions at times that we are Jesus helping those without Him, but He shows us that He is in those downtrodden, overlooked people as well. When we stretch out our hands and feet to help those who hunger, thirst and desire-we are doing the right things, being the representative we are called to be.

When I put these verses together, it brought me to the idea I don’t think about too often-that the same faces looking for a chance to survive belong to Jesus. If I can’t love those right here, right now-what does that say about me? If I can’t make time for someone who needs it, what does that really say about my honesty in making time for God?

Do you serve those around you and love those near you knowing that it is like you are serving Jesus?

2 comments:

  1. Something that always strikes me is that as Christians we are always examples of Christ to others. The question becomes what kind of example are we. If we do not help those around us we are telling/showing them that Christ himself doesn't care about them. But when we live as Christ lived and help all of those, irregardless of how different they are from us, then we show them the love of Christ as it truly is.
    The whole concept of loving your neighbor really hit home to me when I read C.S. Lewis's book the screwtape letters. In the book one demon is trying to train up another demon in how keep his human from becoming a christian and once he is a christian he tries to keep him from living that life he was called to so ultimately he doesn't go to heaven. Here is the excerpt...

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    Do what you will, there is going to be some benevolence, as well as some malice, in your patient's soul. The great thing is to direct the malice to his immediate neighbours whom he meets every day and to thrust his benevolence out to the remote circumference, to people he does not know. The malice thus becomes wholly real and the benevolence largely imaginary.
    ------------

    I find it very easy for us in America to send money and help and our "benevolence" to others in third world countries but what we also need to do, and what will allow us to have a lasting spiritual impact, is loving those people who are right next door to us. The ones who can get on our nerves because they play their music to loud, or they don't cut their grass often enough, are their kids get in trouble too much in the neighborhood.

    Imagine what our world would look like if all those who call themselves christians really acted and loved as Christ himself loved.

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  2. Thanks for the comments

    I think that part of Screwtape is my favorite, it is a part I used for a Communion Meditation once as well...it seems we do an amazing job at loving people and concepts that are not in our current reality, and when we don't love what's in front of us, it can feel like we balance ourselves out somehow...sadly-not the case

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