Jesus has great compassion for the poor. He does not just encourage generosity; he wants us to live it daily. Jesus taught us to “store treasures in Heaven,” – acts of love, mercy, justice, and faithfulness. Let’s take a look.
Our Charge to Help the Poor
The verse in the Bible that captures best how we should treat others is in Matthew 25 31-46:
Call to the Righteous
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place 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. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.‘
Call to the Evildoers
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me. Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me. And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.“
Our Lives as Children of God
Jesus asks us to humble ourselves and to live a life of putting others first:
- Serve others without expecting return.
- Give to the poor with joy and humility.
- Speak truth with grace and courage.
- Forgive even when it’s costly.
- Trust God when the world says to worry.
Reading the words on the paper is easy. Living those words can be challenging, but the rewards are incredible!
The Poor Widow
A great example of how God wants us to live is found in Luke 21:1-4:
“When he looked up, he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury, and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.“
The widow gave from her heart, while the others didn’t. This is the heart of Jesus. We will not always succeed, but trying to do what is right is pleasing to God. The Pilgrim’s Prayer by Thomas Merton says it best:
The Pilgrim’s Prayer
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does, in fact, please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
Please share your thoughts on this article in the “Comments” section.
Peace
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