Spare Change

I got to admit it.  I must be having a hard time totally grasping a hold of what God is trying to convey to me.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am totally trying to listen, read, and spend time with my creator, but it seems like the more time I spend, the more He just continues to bring me back to Matthew 25.  Whether reading a book, grabbing an online devotional, or listening to a sermon I keep finding myself reading or hearing this:

 “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these; you did not do for me.”  Matthew 25:45

In one sense, I am really concerned.  I mean, what is the deal with me?  This seems pretty straightforward.  Have I totally missed something?  Have I come in contact with the “least of these” and ignored them? Maybe I haven’t ignored them, but worse yet, maybe I haven’t even been attentive enough to see them, blinded by my own flesh so to speak.  Honestly, I don’t feel like I have. At least I hope I haven’t. I pray each morning for God to give my day a purpose and there have been a number of days that I have seen take crazy turns because of it.  Tara and I have earnestly sought out opportunities to help those we see and our family continues to consciously seek the Lord’s discernment in decisions so we can help even more.

But why do I keep landing on this section of scripture?

This morning I was preparing for a bible study I will be a part of tonight by reviewing and reading a chapter out of Crazy Love.  As you can expect, Matthew 25 came to light again.  Using this verse as reference, Francis Chan poses a pretty simple question to the reader (and more importantly me):

How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ?   

I got to be honest.  I have read this book before and this really didn’t connect with me.  No, to be really transparent, I have read this book twice.  But this morning, it was as if the text was doing one of those crazy (and dumb!) Microsoft PowerPoint animations across the page!  I stopped reading for a second and really dwelled on it.  What if I really did think of everyone I came in contact with as Jesus himself?  Boy I would treat some people differently wouldn’t I…..wouldn’t each of us.

This morning it started to make more sense.  It’s not just a theoretical question I should be asking myself.  The real question I must answer is WHY AM I NOT considering each person I come in contact with as Christ.  I mean seriously, Christ himself tells me just a few verses earlier that “whatever I do for one of the least of these, I do for Him.” If I do nothing, I do nothing for HIM.  If I respond, I am responding to HIM.

It’s easy for me to let Satan grab a small foothold in my daily walk.  I can start to look at all that our family is doing.  The changes we have made and I can become proud.  It’s stupid I know.  It’s shameful.  But I can also easily find myself picking and choosing who I think the Lord is “calling me” to help.  Maybe it’s that small child in Honduras.  Sure.  Maybe it’s running down to the soup kitchen to volunteer.  Absolutely.  Maybe it’s investing in your sister-in-law’s life because she needs wisdom and truth?  Really?  Or maybe it’s love your next door neighbor “that drives you insane” as yourself.  Surely Not …..

Brother Jeff at Hope Community Church often tells us that he is going to “keep teaching us the same ole’ stuff” because he is waiting for us to respond to the Lord’s direction.  Once we figure that out and start taking the next obedient step, only then we will move on to the next topic!  We can get tired of hearing it, but it doesn’t mean that He is going to stop preaching about it.  He always says, “If you want me to stop preaching on it, start responding to it.”

That’s how I felt today as I read Chapter 7 for the third time.  It’s time for me to start seeing more faces as Christ, stop typing about it and act accordingly. 

‘Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth”      I John 3:18

God Bless, Bo